Winning Wisdom: Don’t Be a Fool

In line with our theme of winning Wisdom, the message is clear Don’t be a fool. Foolishness in this sense is not about intelligence. An individual can be smart yet still spiritually foolish. Looking at the biblical definition, fools are those who despise the Lord’s instructions and live as though God does not matter, they reject the cry of Wisdom (Proverbs 1:20-33, Proverbs 12:1). Proverbs 1:7 states, “The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but fools despise wisdom and instructions.”

We find three examples of individuals in the bible who showcased folly and the consequences of their foolishness are Gehazi, Samson, and lastly king Saul. Folly degrades the soul as seen In the example of Gehazi, who had made up his mind that he is going to betray his master’s trust and conceal his decits. Gehazi showcased his foolishness in attempting to fool his master and most importantly rejected the fear of the Lord. As a consequence of his actions Gehazi obtain a generational curse of leprosy forever. (2 kings 5:20-27.)

Foolishness destroys destinies. This can be seen in the life of Samson, who rejected instructions because he let pride enter his heart and as a result he lost the fear of the Lord and began to sin profusely. Pride does not win battles and the Lord resists the proud (Proverbs 16:5-18). Many say Delilah defeated Samson, the truth is Samson defeated Samson, Delilah was the one who ‘buried’ him. because of what they did to his eyes and had his ego bruised. Samson did not feel like he was worthy of a new beginning so he prayed to also die with the philistines. Folly degrades the soul, breeds disobedience and destroys destinies. (Judges 15:16-19, 16:6-16)

Last example of folly is found in the life of King Saul, who was a fool unto instructions. Foolishness creates disobedience and partial obedience to God’s words. King Saul was told to destroy everything of the Amalekites yet he saved the king and the wildlife, completely disregarding the word of the Lord and consequentially, as a result of his folly he lost his kingdom, went mad and lost his life. (1 samuel 15).

The price of folly out weighs the reward, folly breeds disobedience the bible shows us the consequences of folly in the lives of Gehazi, Samson, and King Saul. The bible highlights that death awaits those who fail to obey instructions, (Hosea 4:6). King Saul lost his kingdom and his life as a result of his folly, Samson lost his strength, eyes and life as a result of his folly, Gehazi who should have obtained a 4x time anointing instead received a life and generational curse. Folly comes to take, wisdom comes to give, (Proverbs 3:1-35), folly tells you to sacrifice the obedience and instructions for momentary pleasures and gains. It brings greed, pride, disobedience, degrades our souls, and detaches us from God.

Key points:

• Folly detaches us from God (Proverbs 1:24-32)
• Folly degrades our souls (Judges 15:16-19, 16: 6-16)
• Folly breeds arrogance and pride (Judges 15:16-19, 16: 6-16)
• Folly is evil (Proverbs 16:5)
• Folly brings laziness (Proverbs 6:6-11)
• Folly makes us unable to see the Lord (Ecc. 10:15)
• Folly takes us away from the house of Wisdom (Proverbs 9)
• Folly destroys destinies (2 Kings 5:20-27)
• Wisdom bring gifts folly comes to steal and take (Proverbs 3:1-35)

Prayer Point:

• Father open my eyes to obtain wisdom and detach myself from the shackles of folly
• Father let the Fear of the Lord burn in me like embers to a flame, let the Fear of the Lord be a never ending fire that keeps me on the path of Wisdom

Scripture References:

Proverbs 1:7

Brother Caleb Oluwaseye Korede