If evil and hardship come upon you at least you will be aware of what is happening, and you will have some understanding of why. It is better than falling under the axe like some dumb brute in a slaughterhouse who has no awareness of what is happening to him. A wise man can even experience the approach of death with some awareness. It may be the final experience, but it is experience.”
–Louis L’Amour (The Proving Trail)
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
–Proverbs 1:7 (NKJV)
———————–
I have often heard, and thought it to be true, that “ignorance can be fixed, but stupidity is fatal.” If a person doesn’t know, he can learn, but what if it is reversed? Let’s take a look at the following verses:
“Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.”
–Romans 1:22-23(NKJV)
I was reading Francis Schaeffer’s book, The Finished Work of Christ, which is a commentary on Romans 1-8. He made some interesting comments on the above verses. Man was made in God’s image, but man has instead decided to make God in their image. Being made in God’s image means that man is rational, moral, and has significance. But now… “He has exchanged the infinite for the finite. He exchanged great wealth and truth for poverty, for sorrow, and for ignorance.” (Schaeffer)
Why is man in the mess he is in? Because he has chosen to be ignorant. When one chooses to be ignorant they become fools, and that is a dangerous position. Ignorance may be fixed, but when a man chooses to be ignorant that goes beyond stupid, that is the mark of a fool. Remember, a fool is someone who does not believe in God. Here we see that a fool is someone who chooses to become their own god, to become autonomous without the ability to do so. When man gets into this position everything becomes a lie. “Mankind doesn’t know who he is. The truth is gone.” (Schaeffer)
Jeremiah said, “The LORD is the God of truth”. Mankind has changed the truth of God into a lie. “When people throw away the God of truth, all truth is gone. All that is left are sets of opinions, and personal gods and pleasure.” (Schaeffer) Man is left ignorant–man is a fool! I like the way J.B. Phillips translates the verses from Romans.
“Behind a facade of “wisdom” they became just fools, fools who would exchange the glory of the eternal God for an imitation image of a mortal man, or of creatures that run or fly or crawl.”
–Romans 1:22-23(Phillips)
When you see all the foolish things that are happening do not be surprised. They are part of what God has said, the truth is there. When you read and see the foolish statements remember these scriptures. Then look at a fool in the Book of Proverbs. There is no way you can deal with a fool.