Becoming a fool, to be wise

 ^{by: Carole L. Haines}

¹⁸ Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. ¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” ²⁰ and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” (1 Corinthians 3:18-20 ESV)

The world lifts up higher education as if it were the greatest investment of our time. But there is a greater education we must receive, and that is the education of becoming a fool.  God’s Word is the Hinge-pin upon which all true wisdom hangs. The more time we invest in knowing and doing the Word of God, the wiser we will become.  But we will appear to be fools in the eyes of men, who exalt human reasoning as the greatest source of wisdom.  But I have come to find that God is, truly is, the source of all wisdom. So then, what is this wisdom? It means to be skilled, to be an expert, learned; supreme intelligence, such as belongs to God. I have read somewhere that wisdom is “knowledge acted out.” Wisdom is an active word, not just an idea, or wonderful thoughts about something.  Wisdom has feet, and must be walked out, lived out.  But God’s wisdom is counter-culture to the world in which we live.

²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (1 Corinthians 1:25 ESV)

Written in the first passage quoted above: ¹⁸ Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. ¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. Am I willing to appear foolish in the eyes of my friends, my family, or the world?  When we follow Christ, it seems that our worlds are turned upside down.  But in actuality, the world is what is upside down and we are turned right-side up, when we follow the God who made this world and delivered us out of it through Jesus.
God’s wisdom tells us to do the lowest tasks, to pray in secret, to love our enemies, to pray for those who hate us.  God’s wisdom tells us to give to the one who steals from us, to turn the other cheek, to sell all we have and give to the poor.  To the world we will seem foolish, but who cares? We have the consolation of God, the joy of being His. We, of all people, are most wise, who become fools in the eyes of the world, as we follow Jesus Christ. He is the source of all wisdom, the source of all life, the source of deepest peace and joy.  Nothing else will ever be able to satisfy our desire for wisdom, except God, because God is wisdom.  So yes, I am willing to be a fool in the eyes of this world, to become truly wise, in the wisdom of God.