Nearly 60 years ago, a new musical premiered on Broadway. It was called Stop the World, I Want to Get Off. If
you’ve never seen it, don’t worry; nobody else much has, either. It hasn’t stood the
test of time like other musicals like South
Pacific or The Phantom of the Opera.
I mention it this morning only because it contains a song with a very interesting
title: “What Kind of Fool Am I?” In English, that’s pretty much a rhetorical
question. What kind of fool am I? There’s only one kind of fool: someone who
doesn’t use the brains God gave him! It’s a great title for a song, but as a real
question, it’s pointless. A fool is a fool is a fool! But in Hebrew – which is
the original language of the book of Proverbs
– it’s a very good question! The Hebrew language has a whole slew of words that
can be translated into English as “fool.”
The
gentlest word for a fool in Hebrew is “peti.” A “peti” is someone who’s
gullible – you know, a simpleton. There’s hope for a “peti” if he wakes up and
smells the coffee! One step below a “peti” is a “kesil.” While a “peti” is gullible,
a “kesil” is stubborn. He hangs onto his old ideas like a dog hanging on to a
bone, even if new and better ideas come his way. Then there’s an “eveel.” An
“eveel” is just plain stupid – as dumb as a box of rocks! An “eveel” insists
that she knows what she’s talking about even when it’s clear as glass that she
doesn’t. An “eveel” is the one who loudly tells you how to raise your children,
even though all three of hers are in the State Penitentiary. Even worse than an
“eveel” is a “nabal,” who is downright evil. A “nabal” commits evil acts just
because he wants to. A “nabal” can be very intelligent; but although he may
have an IQ of 200, according to the Old Testament, he’s still a fool. Finally,
there is a “les,” a scoffer. A “les” is not only a fool; a “les” makes fun of
all the people who disagree with him. “The way to stop his quarrelling” says
Proverbs (22:10), “is to get rid of him.” Did you ever imagine that are so many
different kinds of fools running around?
In
the passage from the book of Proverbs that
I read this morning (1:20-33), wisdom takes the form of a wise woman and pleads
with all these fools to get with the program! “What’s the matter with all of
you?” she asks. How long will you gullible simpletons stay that way? How long
will you scornful, arrogant cynics insist on laughing at people with good
ideas? How long will it be before you stupid fools use the brains that God gave
you? I’ve tried to tell you over and over and over again! Why, I’ve given you
enough advice to float the Queen Mary,
but you’ve just tuned me out! When your foolishness catches up with you, don’t
say I didn’t warn you!” Wisdom claims that she isn’t hard to find, either. She
isn’t hiding under a rock or playing hide and seek with us. No, wisdom walks
right down the middle of the sidewalk, sits on a bench in the middle of town, and
stands on the busiest street corners! She’s like the city panhandlers who
approach people for handouts when they’re trapped in traffic or sitting at red
lights. It’s really hard to ignore them. Wisdom claims to be just like that!
The
only problem is that wisdom’s voice isn’t the only voice around. That panhandler in Dayton may have a corner on Main Street all to himself; but wisdom
might as well be in the middle of a mall on Black Friday! We can hardly hear
her voice over all the other ones that are clamoring for our attention. Sometimes
we can hear her, but we can’t really make out what she’s saying. Other times,
her voice is drowned out completely by all the other voices on social media, on
television, and even from our own friends. Proverbs
makes it sound like listening to wisdom is the easiest thing in the world. I
don’t know about you, but I don’t think that it’s quite that simple!
So
maybe we should consider for just a moment how we can listen for Wisdom? How
can we tell when we’re listening to Wisdom’s voice instead of one of the other
voices in today’s world that is hollering for our attention? The bottom line
is, of course, to live our lives by the teaching and example of Jesus. After
all, Jesus is Wisdom in the flesh! If we follow Jesus, then we will be wise,
even though Jesus’ wisdom is often at odds with the wisdom of the world. But
that’s not saying anything new. We all know that already. We all work toward
the same goals of charity, compassion, and love. The problem arises when we try
to put those goals into practice. Then the question becomes, “How do we do that
wisely?” It isn’t easy. We can’t just open a Chinese fortune cookie and follow
the directions on the slip of paper that falls out! One way to begin is to take
another look at some of the fools that Proverbs talks about and see if they can
tell us anything about how to listen for Lady Wisdom. Bad examples can
sometimes be very instructive!
We’ll
start with the “peti,” the simpleton – the gullible person who believes
whatever he is told. He never uses his brain because he lets everybody else do
his thinking for him. He accepts anything if it sounds good, whether it’s an
advertising claim, a political opinion, or a book that some expert wrote. These
folks need to put their brains in gear and do some critical thinking. The Bible
is clear that the loudest voices aren’t always the ones who know best. Next,
let’s look at the “kesil,” the one who is always sure that the ideas he’s held
for years are right. He wouldn’t change his mind if a good idea ran over him! Now,
it’s tempting to be a “kesil,” because it’s comfortable to just believe what
you’ve always believed. But remember that God’s Spirit is still speaking,
revealing new wisdom to those who are listening for it! If we are serious about
following Jesus, we need to listen to what the Spirit is telling us, even if it
means buying into some new ideas. Finally, we have the “les” – the scoffer who
laughs at anybody who disagrees with him. There seem to be a lot of these folks
around today! Turn on most any radio or television talk show and you’ll hear them.
Democrats sneer at Republicans and Republicans ridicule Democrats. Catholics
mock Pentecostals, Baptists jeer at Mormons, and atheists scorn all of us! In
the end, all this does is to stir up anger, encourage quarreling, and cause bad
feelings.
Lady
Wisdom tells us to avoid all of them! Her advice is to put our brains in gear
with every single idea that we encounter. Evaluate old, comfortable opinions;
and carefully consider new suggestions. And Lady Wisdom says something else, as
well. She reminds us, none too gently, that if we refuse her advice – if we don’t
seek her out in the middle of all the foolishness of the world – then we will reap
the consequences. Today more than ever, the world needs thinking Christians – Christians
who are not only as innocent as doves but also as wise as serpents! The questions
that we face today will affect the whole world! And they’re hard questions;
questions like: How do we respond as faithful Christians to people who believe
differently that we do – not just other Christians, but Buddhists, Hindus,
Jews, and Muslims? How can we use the
natural resources that God gave us in such abundance without abusing that gift? And probably the most
difficult of all: how should we respond to hate so profound that it ends in
terrorism? Can we show the love of Jesus in situations like that? The very
existence of human life on earth may depend on our discerning God’s wisdom in
the middle of the ocean of foolishness that surrounds us! Wisdom calls us to
replace blind acceptance with critical thinking, to be open to the leading of
the Spirit, and to work towards reconciliation and peace everywhere.
And
the good news, friends, is that God will never forsake anyone who honestly
seeks to live wisely. Lady Wisdom is always walking down the sidewalk, sitting
on a park bench, or standing on a street corner proclaiming her advice and waiting
patiently for us to listen to her. If you look for her, she’ll be there – ready
to offer her wisdom to all of us fools. Thanks be to God that she is!
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