Reflections: The fool says what?

A recent venture into the wisdom of Proverbs landed me in chapter 26, which opens with several statements about fools and how fools conduct themselves. A few of the descriptive phrases include “honor is not fitting for a fool,” “wise words are wasted on a fool,” and “don’t trust a fool to deliver your message.” 

Psalm 14:1 summarizes the definition of a fool by stating, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” (BSB) 

Much of Jesus’ teaching involves the same concepts, as He answered religious teachers’ questions by telling them they failed to understand the fulfilling of prophecy right in front of them, as they valued traditions more than truly seeking God. In Matthew 16, Jesus says it is possible to “gain the whole world,”, but lose one’s soul; and in the book of Revelation, speaking through John, Jesus warns once again that wealth does not secure the soul, describing the Laodicean church as naked, wretched and blind, despite their wealth (3:17). 

It’s not hard to see parallels with culture today—focused whatever makes you happy, tolerance for ungodly behavior, and “deconstructing” basic tenets of the Christian faith by denying God exists or reinterpreting Him in light of what the “deconstructor” thinks God should do. I thought about that Proverbs reference to fools delivering a message when thinking about newscasts of my childhood—basically, reporting the news—compared to much of today’s media with its obvious bias. One day recently, after my cat ate his breakfast too fast with disastrous results, he pulled a dog behavior by picking his favorite bits back out of the resulting nasty heap—also part of the Proverbs description, “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.” (BSB) 

Fortunately, I also see signs that some people are starting to figure out that making oneself into a god doesn’t get anyone anywhere. One of my favorite comedians started out a few years ago simply pointing out that some stuff just plain defied common sense, but his search for meaning and common sense has actually led him to God. Yes, he’s still funny and satirical, but he has also shared his route to faith, as he realized the only way to get beyond the foolishness around him was by following an objective source of truth—God and the Bible. 

My husband read a research report just this week, showing a recent increase in people turning back to faith in God, with the highest percentages being among Gen Z men. My son verifies this phenomenon anecdotally, as he knows several twenty-somethings who realize “wokeness” is failing them when it comes to true meaning in their lives. 

My prayer is that if some of those searchers cross my path, I will be ready to point them to God and help them abandon the life of the fool.