Fools Rush In

Did you know that April Fools’ Day is a holiday that is celebrated in many countries?

The custom of playing practical jokes on friends has been part of our traditional celebration dating as far back as ancient Rome. It is said to be related to the vernal equinox and the coming of spring - the time when nature fools us with the sudden changes between showers and sunshine.

Webster’s Dictionary defines the word “fool” as a person who lacks good judgment or prudence. Another notable characteristic of a fool is that he can sometimes be rather gullible. A few humorous examples of past “tomfooleries” have been well documented.

The BBC television program Panorama ran a famous hoax in 1957, showing the Swiss harvesting spaghetti from trees. A lot of people wanted spaghetti trees of their own.

A report on television about the invention of dehydrated water was broadcast, claiming that all you had to do was shine ultraviolet light onto a powder and it turned into water.

As humorous as some of those past April fool’s jestings are, the Bible has some fairly strong words to say about fools. The book of Ecclesiastes tells us:

“A wise person thinks a lot about death, while a fool thinks only about having a good time.” (Ecclesiastes 7:4 NLT)

So too, the Book of Proverbs records many of the unfortunate plights of the foolish.

A fool’s lips bring strife, and his mouth invites a flogging. (Proverbs 18:6).

Fools die for lack of sense. (Proverbs 10:21).

Honor is not fitting for a fool. (Proverbs 26:1)

A fool is hotheaded and reckless (Proverbs 14:16).

Fools mock at making amends for sin. (Proverbs 14:9)

But the most disturbing words spoken in Scripture about a fool are found in the Book of Psalms when it says:

“The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God.” (Psalm 14:1)

For God said to [the rich man], 'You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God. (Luke 12:20-21)

Before we go around condemning others, we must humbly admit that we all (at one time or another) have played the fool. We have fallen victim to doing foolish and unwise things. The result? Our lives had become enmeshed in the consequences of the domino effect of reaping that which we had sown.

So Lord, our prayer to you is, “Please help us to always be wise in all that we do and in all that we say," because your word tells us:

The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception. (Proverbs 14:8).