No Fool Like An Old Fool

Matt 7:26 "And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:"

Okay, before you turn me off, this isn't about those of us who have made our way down the path of time - it simply refers to experience. So, we could say it like this "there is no fool, like an experienced fool". Now, does that sound better? Anyway, we really can't get the message without understanding the meaning of the word "fool". We commonly think of a fool as one without much common sense and there is some truth to that. But, when we think in terms of the Bible and what God calls a fool, well it is somewhat different. The Psalmist says "The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God". (Psa 53:1) Just as is in the King James Version of the Bible, I have put "there is" in italic. The translaters did so when certain words were need to give a continuation of thought to a particular passage of scripture. Certainly, a person who denies the existence of Holy God, is very foolish in his thinking. But, when you compare this scripture, with what Jesus said in Matt 7:26 you see that the real fool is the person who hears what God has to say and doesn't do it. Or, going back to Psa 53, we could say that the fool is the one who says "no God! I know what you are saying to me, but I am just not going to do it". Now, before we begin looking down our pious noses at someone like this, think of the many times that we have heard the preaching or teaching of God's Word on a particular subject, such as church attendance, or titheing, or Bible reading, etc, and have not responded to what God said directly to us. God so graciously allows us to hear it again and again, so that we might obey, and yet there is no change in us. How foolish is that? By the way, it gets easier every time we turn a deaf ear to God's wooing of us. So, let's not become an "experienced old fool", but instead allow God to make the corrections in life that will allow us to be blessed.