April Fools’ Day is commonly associated with what are (hopefully) good-hearted jokes and pranks between friends and family.  Most are harmless enough but surely there’s a line, like the young wife who told her husband she was pregnant and waited hours before happily saying “April Fools!”  The April Fools tradition presumes the “victim” is gullible or naive.  The American Heritage Dictionary defines a fool as “one who is deficient in judgment, sense, or understanding; or who acts unwisely on a given occasion.”   However the Biblical definition of a fool is much different.

Psalms 14:1 reads:

“The fool has said in his heart there is no God.”

The Biblical definition of a fool in no way implies a lack of intelligence or reason, in fact quite the contrary.  Roman 1:22-23 states:

 “Professing themselves wise, they became fools and changed the glory of an incorruptible God into an image made to look like a corruptible man.” 

 The Bible defines a fool as one who has said in his heart there is no God.  While few people might actually say  the words there is no God, how many of us practically live as though He doesn’t exist?  Perhaps we have:

• A Secular view of Life: building our lives, hopes, dreams, and values on man’s wisdom and values. Do we look first to the secular world for hope and help and not to God? Do we fear the world’s disapproval more than God’s?
• A Secular view of Eternity: seeking to find happiness in the here and now rather than investing our time, talent, and treasure in that which is eternal. Everything that we can see, touch, and hold in our hands is temporal and will soon pass away, but the treasure that we lay up in Heaven through our relationships with God and others is
• A Secular view of God: A popular view of God today would have us believe that He is here to serve us, rather than the other way around. Are our prayers based on what we would have Him do for us? Or are our prayers based on the Truth of His Word of how He would advise us in our given situation?
• A Secular view of Security: The world, the flesh, and the devil offer an endless number of things that we can trust in other than God.  Wealth, 401-Ks, jobs, education, health, talent, even friends or family can easily displace God as the source of our security. Luke 12:16-21 gives the account of a very successful businessman who had amassed such wealth that he said to himself: “you have stored up enough good things to last for years to come.  Live it up!  Eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!   The Lord saw things differently, saying: “You fool!  Tonight you will die.  Then who will get what you have stored up?  This is what happens to people who store up everything for themselves, but are poor in the sight of God.” (CEV)

Proverbs 1:7 tells us:

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”

 This simply means learning and choosing to view life from God’s perspective.  Allowing our one-on-one personal relationship with Him to become the cornerstone of life as we know it.  Choosing to build our lives, our marriages, our homes according to the blueprint of His Word.  Consciously striving to live each moment of each day seeking His approval,  with the thought of His disapproval being our greatest fear.  Developing wisdom through the fear of the Lord is a lifetime pursuit and discipline that ensures we will never be anybody’s fool!