When was the last time that you did something foolish? It probably wasn’t that long ago because we all do foolish things from time to time. We’re human beings which means that we are prone to do foolish things.
I was reading an article about foolish things people have done. I think I read that article because it made me feel better about myself. These stories made me smile.
Someone shared the story of a time when he spent almost an hour searching his house for his phone....and this was while he was on the phone with his mother.
He says that she could hear him getting frustrated and throwing things around, so she asked what was wrong. And he replied, "I can't find my phone anywhere! I have been looking for it the whole time that we’ve been talking…” That’s when he said, “Oh, nevermind.”
Someone else mentioned that they couldn’t find their favorite pair of shorts. He spent the next half hour looking everywhere for them and then realized that he was already wearing them.
Somebody posted on Twitter that they just made some yummy synonym rolls and showed a picture of them. Someone else responded, “Yeah, just like grammar used to make.”
Another person asked if anybody knew the name of the boat in the movie, “Titanic.”
This person was showing off some pictures that they had taken with their new iPhone. They said, “The quality of these photos is so surreal, it’s like Leonardo DiCaprio had painted them.” I wonder if this person thinks that Leonardo DaVinci was an award-winning actor.
If we had enough time, I’d share some foolish things that I have done as well. Ok, just a couple, I guess.
In one of the churches I served, I announced to the congregation about our upcoming Cabernet musical, but I meant to say “Cabaret.” Evidently those two words have entirely different meanings! People were disappointed when we only offered punch and coffee at the event.
There was also the time when somebody called the church office where I was serving at the time, and they asked to speak the pastor. When the phone in my office rang, I thought it was our Office Manager who was going to let me know who was on the other line.
So, I decided to have a little fun as I like to do sometimes thinking that it was our Office Manager. I picked up the phone and in a very snobby voice I said, “Yes, this is the Right Reverend and Most Holy, Senior Pastor, Robert McDowell. Please state your purpose for calling.” And there was this brief pause and my heart sunk when I realized the person on the other end wasn’t our Office Manager. It was an attorney regarding an estate gift that was being made to our church.
That embarrassing incident taught me the importance of proper phone etiquette.
So yeah, I have done my fair share of foolish things, but don’t we all?
The Book of Proverbs talks a lot about foolishness and how God is always wanting us to be the wise people that we have been created to be. Now, I don’t think the writer of Proverbs is too worried about the examples of foolishness that I’ve just shared with you. I think Proverbs is much more concerned about the kind of foolishness that can have far greater negative consequences.
The Bible’s references to the importance of wisdom vs. foolishness can be found throughout its pages. From the Book of Proverbs, the prophetic writings, and into the New Testament where Jesus uses wise vs. foolish parables in his teachings, the Bible emphasizes the importance of wisdom.
Jesus refers to the wise person who built a house on a rock vs. the foolish person who built a house on sand. Jesus talks about the foolish bridesmaids who weren’t prepared for the wedding vs. the wise ones who were ready.
Wisdom is so important in the Bible that we are told here in our Proverbs scripture reading that it even cries out in the streets to get our attention. In verse 22 of our scripture reading, it says that wisdom cries out, “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple.” By the way, I don’t think the use of the word, “simple” here is a compliment.
If you have ever seen or heard how somebody did or said something that was so thoughtless, so irresponsible, so selfish, and so hurtful toward themselves or others, maybe it led you to do this: 🤦♂️
Or maybe upon further reflection, you realized that it was you that did or said something that was foolish, you might have also did this: 🤦♂️
We can all be foolish where we make impulsive and shortsighted decisions.
The Book of Proverbs has a word of hope for those of us who are prone to do foolish things. It says in our reading for today that wisdom is calling out to us even on the street.
The Book of Proverbs was most likely written after Israel had been in exile for the past several decades. Their pride and foolishness had placed them in a vulnerable situation that led to their exile by the Babylonian Empire.
Their foolishness was that they had turned from God and refused God’s wisdom which led them into exile. The Book of Proverbs is to remind God’s people who are now back home from being in exile to seek wisdom and to not be foolish as they look toward the future.
I think it’s interesting that the wisdom that God wants us to have is not hidden somewhere. We are told that wisdom cries out in the streets and in the squares for all to hear.
Even on the busiest street corner, wisdom cries out. In verse 23 of our Proverbs reading, God says that “I will pour out my thoughts to you and I will make my words known to you.”
The word on the street is wisdom calling out to each one of us. I love this descriptive way of showing how wisdom is accessible. We don’t even have to be in church to hear wisdom speaking to us.
It’s calling out in the coffee shops, in the classrooms, on the sidewalks, in the restaurants and bars, in churches and everywhere we go. Wisdom cries out in the streets because that’s where people go.
Sometimes, the choices we face in life are not about wisdom vs. foolishness. It’s more about making a wise decision when the pathway in front of us doesn’t look very clear-cut.
Wisdom often involves us wrestling with our faith. Here are a couple of examples from the Bible of what I mean.
In the Old Testament, we have the story of Jacob, the brother of Esau who spent an entire night wrestling with God about who he was and the direction he was going. But it was after that long night of wrestling that Jacob received a blessing from God.
In the New Testament, while Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, he wrestled with his decision to go to the cross. He fervently prayed for a long time and the disciples who were with him kept falling asleep.
In the Book of Acts, the early church needed to wrestle over several issues that were facing them in light of their faith in Christ. Some of these issues included whether or not Gentiles could be baptized into the Christian faith and which Old Testament laws they needed to continue to follow, and which ones were not as important to follow.
And we continue as followers of Jesus and as the church to wrestle with various issues as they relate to our faith. We are never done growing, learning, and discerning in what it means to be God’s faithful people.
Wisdom may cry out in the street, but it’s also not handed to us on a silver platter. When wisdom calls out to us, it’s calling us to think about our decisions, to sometimes rethink our long-held beliefs, to live in the tension of complicated issues, to pray, to discern, to seek counsel, and then by God’s grace, to make decisions that would best express who God is calling us to be.
I served as a pastor in a college town located in southeast, Ohio where Ohio University is located and has approximately 24,000 students. My church was located just a block away from the university’s main entrance which is also near a busy intersection of the town. Around that busy intersection are coffee shops, restaurants, banks, and stores.
During the week, I would often walk down to that busy intersection to just go for a little walk or just get a cup of coffee. The college entrance that is located there is actually a large brick archway.
At the top of that university archway are these incredible words that are engraved in the cement above: “So enter that daily thou mayest grow in knowledge, wisdom, and love.”
In that little university town, wisdom is literally crying out on the street to all who pass by. “So enter that daily thou mayest grow in knowledge, wisdom, and love.”
I often wondered how many people who walk by that archway actually stop to look up and read those words of wisdom. The Book of Proverbs is reminding us that wisdom is calling out to us wherever we go.
May we all hear her voice.
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