Maybe you didn’t expect a “Mr. T” post on this holy day of Good Friday. Frankly, I didn’t either. I considered doing a Good Friday post to honor the sacrifice Jesus made for each of us today, but then I felt nudged by the Holy Spirit to continue with what came to mind on Wednesday, April 1st.
On April Fool’s day, I was reading in Proverbs and doing our Wednesday Wisdom post, when the old A-Team TV show and Mr. T came to mind. I could still clearly hear Mr. T saying, “I pity the fool!” Can you still hear it? (hello sisters of the 80’s!)
“Fool” (either fool, fools, or foolishly) is used 186 times in the Bible. In Proverbs alone, “fool” is used more than 70 times, and it’s never in a good way! Perhaps Mr. T was right ~ we should “pity the fool.”
In my Bible dictionary, fool is defined as an unwise person, and foolishly is defined as silly or unwise. Let me give you just a couple of examples from Proverbs:
- For the waywardness of the naïve will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them. But he who listens to me shall live securely and will be at ease from the dread of evil. ~Proverbs 1:32-33
- The wise of heart will receive commands, but a babbling fool will be ruined. ~Proverbs 10:8
- Like a dog that returns to its vomit is a fool who repeats his folly. ~Proverbs 26:11
- Fools mock at sin…a wise man is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is arrogant and careless. ~Proverbs 14:9 & 16
Yikes! I don’t want to be considered a “fool.” I want to be wise and filled with knowledge and understanding. You should check out the blessings that go along with those qualities ~ much better!
I did find one use of the word “fool” that we should strive for:
“We are fool’s for Christ’s sake…” ~1 Corinthians 4:10
Especially today, on Good Friday, we should be fools for Christ’s sake. We should read John 18 and 19 and be vividly reminded of what Jesus went through to save us from our sins. Oh how He loves us! Maybe we’ll look like fools, or feel foolish, when we invite neighbors or coworkers to church this Easter Sunday, but that’s the kind of fool I want to be.
From what I can tell from reading the Bible, “fools” are people who are not following God or Jesus, and we certainly should try to help them. Invite people to church this Easter, start sharing your faith more, be a fool for Christ’s sake.
Help others avoid being “fools” or acting “foolishly” because it doesn’t sound like it’s going to go well for them. Consider it compassion (not pushy) to tell others about Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
Did you share your faith this month? Did you invite anyone to church? How did you do it? Tell us about it so that others can be encouraged and empowered to do it, too!