There's No Fool Like An Old Fool

If I were to call you an old fool, I am pretty certain you would be angry with me and rightly so. But, what if God were to say that? What would your response be? Some of you would say that it couldn't refer to you because you aren't old. Well, how about well seasoned or experienced? The Psalmist makes a bold statement in Psa 14:1 where he says "The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God...". If you notice, the words (there is) are in italic, which means they were added by the translator to add continuation of thought. I think we would all agree that it is a rather foolish statement to say that God does not exist. We see evidence of His presence all around us in His marvelous creation. But, that isn't what is really being said there. If you remove the words "there is" then you see that the fool is the person who says no to God. In Matt 7:24-27, Jesus is teaching a valuable lesson in the sermon on the Mount. There He uses the example of 2 men who build houses. One on the sand and one on the rock. He likens the man who built on the sand as one who hears His Word and does not obey it and as a result of building on the sand, the house fell when the storms came. On the other hand, He likened the man who built on the rock to one who hears His Word and obeys it and that house stood the full effects of the storm and stood firm. In other word, the fool is the person who knows what God is saying to him and says "no God, I am not going to do it". Okay, where does the old part come in? Well, unfortunately, that kind of activity is not a rare occurrence in life and we become well experienced in saying no to God. On this April 1st, don't be an old fool. Hear what God has to say and obey.