Don’t Fool Yourself

No one likes to play the fool. We seek the world’s respect. We long for industry gatekeepers to reward our efforts. And we crave the validation of others (through reviews, likes, sales) to prove our success.

But what if we’re fooling ourselves by chasing these things? What if being relevant doesn’t make us wise?  What if what the world calls smart, God calls stupid? What if the path to true wisdom requires us to be God’s fool?

Are you squirming yet? I am. But listen to Paul’s counterintuitive words: 

Don’t fool yourself. Don’t think that you can be wise merely by being relevant. Be God’s fool—that’s the path to true wisdom. What the world calls smart, God calls stupid. It’s written in Scripture, He exposes the hype of the hipsters. The Master sees through the smoke screens of the know-it-alls.  (1 Corinthians 3:19 The Message)

But Paul tells us not to be fooled. The ways of the Kingdom are upside down to the world’s system. The question is are we willing to pursue our calling in ways that are counter to the industry and to culture? Especially knowing the world will mock, ignore, and oppose us for doing so.

It seems foolish to pursue your creativity in this way. Even so, choose to be God’s fool. The world didn’t give you your creativity. God did. So pursue it with him and trust him for the results.

This reading was crafted to encourage your pursuit of story and creativity with God. Your donation makes this crowd-funded initiative possible. You can support it via PAYPAL (or by check to Allen Arnold at PO Box 62841, Colorado Springs, CO 80962).

Want More?
Order your copy of The Story of With today