Ecclesiastes 10:1

Ecclesiastes 10:1

It takes a lifetime to build a good reputation, but it only takes one bad act or decision to spoil it. That’s pretty much what Solomon points out in the above verse. The importance of consistently exercising wisdom is something to be valued and yet wisdom does not always come to us naturally. Wisdom is sometimes learned and wisdom is sometimes gifted to us by God but, either way, wisdom is always to be applied if you seek to avoid looking like a fool.

On the other hand, looking like a fool comes easy and without practice. You don’t have to learn to be foolish to be one, you just have to not learn to apply wisdom. This same author tells us in other places that the fear of God is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom. To avoid looking like a fool, start learning who God is and what He requires of you and, as you do, you’ll find yourself making less and less of a fool of yourself.

It’s important to remember however, that when following the cross of Jesus Christ, you may look like a fool to the world around you, but never will you look like a fool before God. 

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God… Because the foolishness of God is wiser than man, and the weakness of God is stronger than men… But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty” (1 Corinthians 1:18, 25, 27). 

Pastor Jason Witt