THOUGH we don’t hear it nor speak about it often, the reality of fools
obviously continues to take place today and, in fact, in a more
rampant albeit subtle ways. I suppose it is out of good manners that
we refrain from using the word. We actually now employ a lot of
euphemisms to refer to the same banana.
In a sense, it is good that it be that way. Refraining from using the
word in our daily conversations, I imagine, would make for a cleaner
and calmer environment. But neither should we forget it, since the
reality, sad to say, continues to be around.
In fact, the Bible speaks about fools and its variants many, many
times, thus, often jarring the sensibilities of the people of today.
This is one more reason why the Bible has to be handled with
deliberate care, since its language belongs to a different age and to
a different culture.
But the Bible teaches truths for all times and defines things in their
radical and ultimate dimensions. As to what a fool is and what things
fools do, the Bible, especially in the books of Psalms and the
Proverbs, has a lot to say.
Many times, it defines a fool as anyone who does not believe in God.
“The fool says in his heart, there is no God,” Psalm 14,1 says. And
Proverbs 1,7 describes something about fools: “The fear of the Lord is
the beginning of wisdom. Fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
And so a long series of descriptions about fools continues all the way
to the New Testament. We have the famous parable of the wise and
foolish virgins, for example, and passages about how a foolish man who
only hears but does not act on the word of God is like a fool who
builds his house on sand, without good foundation.
The Book of Ecclesiastes sums up the whole thing when it says:
“Infinitus est numerus stultorum,” (Infinite is the number of fools),
referring not only to the number of fools but also to their ways,
since our freedom, which launches us into infinity, can be used either
for good or for evil, distinguishing the wise from the fool.
In spite of all these, there is always hope for as long as we are
still alive and capable of changing and converting. “Where sin has
abounded, grace has abounded even more,” says St. Paul (Rom 5,20).
So, there’s no use simply branding people fools and then lamenting
about the predicament. What we need to do is to understand why many
people still are fools in the biblical sense, and try to do something
about it.
And the common reason for this is that they do not know how to relate
themselves to God. They don’t see him, they cannot touch him, they
don’t have any special feelings for him.
There is obviously some ignorance and confusion involved here. While
it’s true that we don’t see God, nor touch him, we cannot deny that
God is everywhere, since he is the very author and the very supporter
of everyone’s and everything’s existence. By merely existing, everyone
and everything unavoidably reflects God’s eternal existence.
Besides, to start relating to him and developing certain feelings for
him is a matter of loving. As long as we love, in any way we express
our love, we are at least already on the way to reaching God who is
love.
We just have to make sure that our loving is the right kind of loving.
And that ultimately means we need to conform our love to the love of
God who revealed and lived it to the full in Christ.
Thus, Christ summarized all the commandments of God into the new
commandment of love: “Love one another as I have loved you.” Christ
makes himself the standard of our love that necessarily has two
inseparable objects: love of God and love of neighbor.
Loving God and thereby reaching him and being with him is actually not
difficult and much less, impossible to do, since loving God can simply
be a matter of loving others the way Christ loves all of us.
We need to be clear about this doctrine and do everything to live it.
It is very doable. We obviously need the grace of God for this, but
insofar as we are concerned, we can do it.
We just have to stir ourselves everyday to feel that love, making use
of some plans, devices or gimmicks to put us into the system. But we
can truly reach God here and now!
obviously continues to take place today and, in fact, in a more
rampant albeit subtle ways. I suppose it is out of good manners that
we refrain from using the word. We actually now employ a lot of
euphemisms to refer to the same banana.
In a sense, it is good that it be that way. Refraining from using the
word in our daily conversations, I imagine, would make for a cleaner
and calmer environment. But neither should we forget it, since the
reality, sad to say, continues to be around.
In fact, the Bible speaks about fools and its variants many, many
times, thus, often jarring the sensibilities of the people of today.
This is one more reason why the Bible has to be handled with
deliberate care, since its language belongs to a different age and to
a different culture.
But the Bible teaches truths for all times and defines things in their
radical and ultimate dimensions. As to what a fool is and what things
fools do, the Bible, especially in the books of Psalms and the
Proverbs, has a lot to say.
Many times, it defines a fool as anyone who does not believe in God.
“The fool says in his heart, there is no God,” Psalm 14,1 says. And
Proverbs 1,7 describes something about fools: “The fear of the Lord is
the beginning of wisdom. Fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
And so a long series of descriptions about fools continues all the way
to the New Testament. We have the famous parable of the wise and
foolish virgins, for example, and passages about how a foolish man who
only hears but does not act on the word of God is like a fool who
builds his house on sand, without good foundation.
The Book of Ecclesiastes sums up the whole thing when it says:
“Infinitus est numerus stultorum,” (Infinite is the number of fools),
referring not only to the number of fools but also to their ways,
since our freedom, which launches us into infinity, can be used either
for good or for evil, distinguishing the wise from the fool.
In spite of all these, there is always hope for as long as we are
still alive and capable of changing and converting. “Where sin has
abounded, grace has abounded even more,” says St. Paul (Rom 5,20).
So, there’s no use simply branding people fools and then lamenting
about the predicament. What we need to do is to understand why many
people still are fools in the biblical sense, and try to do something
about it.
And the common reason for this is that they do not know how to relate
themselves to God. They don’t see him, they cannot touch him, they
don’t have any special feelings for him.
There is obviously some ignorance and confusion involved here. While
it’s true that we don’t see God, nor touch him, we cannot deny that
God is everywhere, since he is the very author and the very supporter
of everyone’s and everything’s existence. By merely existing, everyone
and everything unavoidably reflects God’s eternal existence.
Besides, to start relating to him and developing certain feelings for
him is a matter of loving. As long as we love, in any way we express
our love, we are at least already on the way to reaching God who is
love.
We just have to make sure that our loving is the right kind of loving.
And that ultimately means we need to conform our love to the love of
God who revealed and lived it to the full in Christ.
Thus, Christ summarized all the commandments of God into the new
commandment of love: “Love one another as I have loved you.” Christ
makes himself the standard of our love that necessarily has two
inseparable objects: love of God and love of neighbor.
Loving God and thereby reaching him and being with him is actually not
difficult and much less, impossible to do, since loving God can simply
be a matter of loving others the way Christ loves all of us.
We need to be clear about this doctrine and do everything to live it.
It is very doable. We obviously need the grace of God for this, but
insofar as we are concerned, we can do it.
We just have to stir ourselves everyday to feel that love, making use
of some plans, devices or gimmicks to put us into the system. But we
can truly reach God here and now!
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