The Fool and His Propensity

From My Perspective - - -

 

Many have recollections from his or her youth of proverbs and idioms that conveyed a practical lesson. One of the idioms was: “A fool and his money are easily (or soon) parted.” It simply means that one will quickly spend or squander what has been earned or received as a gift. One of the more popular and often used statements is: “Fool me once – shame on you; Fool me twice – Shame on Me!” An older version of this statement appeared in 1611 AD, “For Who deceives me once, God forgive him; if twice, God forgive him; but if thrice, God forgive him, but not me, because I could not beware.” See Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs for other references. A statement that was attributed to President Abraham Lincoln was, “You can fool some people some times but you can't full all the people all the time?” Those who researched such statements also found an attribution to P.T. Barnum (of Barnum and Bailey Circus notoriety).The inversion that statement is: "You can please all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but not all of the people all of the time" (elongated statement has also been attributed to Abraham Lincoln, amongst others).

 

Leadership Journal contains an excellent statement in terms of what is Fake versus what is Reality in a summary by John Ortburg on Redeeming Authority. His thrust is that “Teaching with genuine authority spurs growth and awakens desire for God,”  His introductory paragraphs state: “Authority can be faked. That's why impersonating a police officer is a crime. Sometimes the outward appearances of authority can be deceiving. Spiritual authority can also be faked. Sometimes the outward appearances are there—perhaps a person's bearing suggests gravitas, substance, and passion. But that can be merely the way a person carries himself or herself, the result of a natural gift but not necessarily true spiritual authority. Real spiritual authority has to do with the truth of the actual words being spoken, and the spirit of the person behind the words…”

 

In the culture of our day, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to discern Truth from Error – the Fake from the Real. Two of the more influential areas in human experience are Politics and Religion. Just a simple question: Who speaks with authority and Factualness today in either area. The Government representatives are more interested in preserving their “career/job” than they are of speaking and standing for Truth and Integrity. Religion promotes the “bigness’ of a ministry as a sign of “success/prosperity” – but – is that a valid sign? Many are gullible and think that identity with that ministry will meet their personal needs – but - your answer should be “No!” You are to be more concerned with a spiritual relationship to Jesus Christ than to any ministry because of its “bigness”!

 

Jesus spoke about a man who we might categorize as a “prosperity-oriented religionist” who based his eternal confidence in terms of what he had rather than the reality of a personal relationship to Jesus Christ. In Luke 18:18-23, the text states: “And a ruler asked him: Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?…You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother. And he said: All these I have kept from my youth. Jesus said to him, One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.” This man was more content and pleased with what he had rather than what he could become by placing his faith and confidence in Jesus Christ alone for his salvation. However, the ruler went away “very sad” because he was “very rich” and felt he could not run the risk of giving everything away to follow Jesus Christ. Do you believe Government and/or Religion is the answer to your need? The lesson to be learned is stated in Philippians 4:19, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” The Message Translation is: "You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need, his generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from Jesus." Consider these things with me!