Devotional:Way of a Fool:Romans 1:18-32

“The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good’” (Psalm 14:1, NASB).

The television was on, but I was not paying much attention to the program. The program that I had watched was over. In the background I heard a man talking about the education system in America today. The speaker was saying that the COVID-19 pandemic had forced schools to close their doors. The students had to be schooled from their homes. This meant that the parents had to become more involved in what their children were learning. Previously, parents had sort of left it up to the teachers and the schools while the parents involved themselves in their own life routines. When the parents became involved in their child’s education, they were surprised to learn that their children were being taught things that they, the parents, did not agree with. Some were shocked because it had never entered their minds that the schools were teaching the things that they were now hearing. For many parents, the education systems were teaching their children to embrace things that the parents considered to be wicked. The knowledge that was being given to their children would make them fools.

What is a fool? Many people think of a fool as a person who is unable to learn. This, however, is not what the word “fool” means in the bible. In the bible the word fool is associated with wickedness and sin. It means to think and act according to one’s own folly. It is to think and act differently from God. According to the speaker on the program, parents were discovering that their children were being taught that behaviors and lifestyles called sins in the scriptures are in fact normal, acceptable, and desirable. The scriptures tell us that these thoughts and ways not compatible with the thoughts and ways of God marks one as a fool.

Paul in his exposition on sin tells us that everyone who does not have the knowledge of God in their heart is a fool. Paul says that if one rejects God and go their own way, God will let them go. They will think that their thoughts are wise, but in fact they are foolish. They will accept and live in ways that God calls sin. Paul wanted the Gentiles to know that they were not able to change their thoughts and ways apart from God. They needed to repent of their sins and receive Jesus Christ as their savior.

We can believe in our hearts that we are wise, and we will have no difficulty finding people that agree with us in thoughts and deeds. Thus, it is the responsibility of the children of light, those that know Christ to speak out against the darkness that keeps the fools from coming to the knowledge of the truth found in Christ Jesus.

Prayer: Lord helps us to expel the darkness that blinds the fool. Amen.