Fools

I once heard a minister whose entire sermon amounted to blasphemy, complaints about his upbringing, and resentment toward the way God made the world. His grievance was that his parents had “baptized, catechized, and chastised” him meaning they had dedicated him to God, taught him the faith, sent him to excellent schools, and disciplined him for his good. What he condemned was in fact a priceless inheritance, despised only because, as Solomon says, “The simple inherit folly” (Prov. 14:18). A fool is not a dimwit but one who rejects discipline, loves his folly, and returns to it like a dog to its vomit (Prov. 26:11). Such people refuse the fear of the Lord, hate true knowledge (Prov. 1:29), and destroy those who walk with them (Prov. 13:20). Our age is full of such fools in pulpits, in government, and in culture men who believe debt creates wealth, enemies are eager to love us, and God can be excluded from church, school, and state. They mistake learning for wisdom and imaginations for reality, turning everything they touch into chaos. The only cure is regeneration: humbling ourselves under God, returning to His Word, and embracing the truth that “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge” (Prov. 1:7).