HANGING AROUND WITH FOOLS
God promised the children of Israel a land flowing with milk and honey, but the people refused to believe God. Consequently all, except for two of them, died in the wilderness. What’s the moral of the story? Simple. If you hang around idiots and you let them influence you, your promises will be delayed or even deleted.
Joshua and Caleb are a perfect example of two guys who were faithful. They both loved God and they believed in their divine destinies, but they entered their Promised Land 40 years late because they hung around with fools. The truth is, they had to wait until the last fool died off before they could even lay one foot on their holy ground.
Let me be clear: we are all called to help the poor, love the needy, and heal the broken hearted, no matter what condition we find them in; we all know that. We are also aware that Jesus hung out with sinners. Furthermore, we know that some of His own disciples were actually not the sharpest knives in the drawer. But there is a big difference between ministering to people and letting them influence you.
JESUS CONFRONTS STUFF
Oh Kris, this just doesn’t feel Christlike! Well, maybe your perspective of Jesus needs to be expanded. For instance, here is a short interchange between Jesus and some of the religious leaders of His day.
Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘ Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.’ “You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? (Matthew 23:15 -17)
Whether you like it or not, Jesus confronted fools; He certainly didn’t have a ton of patience for them. Now days, under the guise of free speech, people spew the most foolish, ridiculous nonsense ever uttered by human lips, without so much as a kind rebuttal. For instance, women are no longer carrying babies, they are pregnant with a fetus, which consequently is only human if she decides to give birth to it! On the other hand, if it’s aborted, even in the third-trimester, it’s only tissue. What? Oh wait, there’s more. A man with a penis believes he is a woman, although his genetic code, his biology, and his physiology all say he is a man. But guess what, he is a she because he “feels” like a woman and therefore he is one. And oh, by the way, if you believe anything different, keep it to yourself because you might hurt someone’s feelings! I am obviously being sarcastic.
IF THE TRUTH SETS YOU FREE, THEN WHAT DO LIES DO?
Personally, I would rather be right than be politically correct! We owe the world the truth! It’s the truth that sets people free! If the truth sets you free than it must be lies that imprison you. Let me be clear, I shared a harsh quote from Jesus just to remind you that He didn’t pull punches with people who were enslaving others with their lies. But I am not actually talking about being harsh, I am just talking about being honest, and inviting honesty into your inner circle.
THE ART OF TAKING COUNSEL
You can have the wisest people in the world around you, but if you create a culture where truth telling is costly, you will silence your wise counselors. I can’t tell you how many times people have invited me to speak into their lives and then later punished me for my opinion.
If you want to be a world changer then you will need to learn the art of taking advice. If you ask for input and then argue with the people who are counseling you, you are sending them a loud message that you don’t value their advice.
The other way you send a message to people that you aren’t prudent enough to listen to wise counsel is that you give them the silent treatment after they advise you. When you pout and/or avoid your advisors after they have shared their opinion with you, you can bet they’ll think twice before they ever tell you the truth again.
5 QUESTIONS
Here are 5 questions you can ask yourself that will reveal if you are acting like a fool, or if you are carrying yourself like a wise leader:
1. Are you a know-it-all who thinks that you are always right, or do you instinctively and intuitively ask for input? Proverbs 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel.
2. Do you let people correct you or are you hardheaded? A fool rejects his father’s discipline, but he who regards reproof is sensible. (Proverbs 15:5)
3. When someone is giving you input that you don’t like, are you thinking of your rebuttal while they are talking, or are you listening from the heart? A fool does not delight in understanding, but only in revealing his own mind. (Proverbs 18:2)
4. Is talking to you a big waste of time because you never change, or do you actually act on wise people’s advice?Though you pound a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, yethis foolishness will not depart from him. (Proverbs 27:22)
5. Are you overconfident, arrogant and egotistical, or are you humble, teachable and influencible? He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but he who walks wisely will be delivered. (Proverbs 28:26)
How about you? Are you acting like a fool, or carrying yourself with wisdom? Let me know in the comments below.
