“Rowing harder doesn’t help if the boat is headed in the wrong direction.” (Kenichi Ohmae)
Painfully, I have learned through trial and
error that sometimes the person who is in charge is a fallible human being that
doesn’t necessarily always have the right answers for the group. It’s painful
to be the one that takes the blame.
I had a great example of a configuration of
the above example in Facebook about a
month ago. I like to do nice things occasionally for my wife just because I
can. I decided to put pictures of Bobbi in a pictorial collage with the
following inscription: “To my wife Bobbi, who’s been a consistent reminder of faithfulness and
love for 27 years of marriage.”
My close family friend, “Carly,” that has
known me since childhood quickly read the above words, and made a wrong
assumption as she put this comment on Facebook:
“Happy Anniversary.
I pray this will be a year full of blessing.” I find that nice
sentiment humorous for two reasons: my wedding anniversary is on November 13th,
and Carly was at my wedding and should have remembered that. (Maybe she was
distracted with something else the day she put that comment in,)
11 people followed that didn’t want to be
left out, which included another person who was also at my November wedding. My
daughter tried to stop the “train” of Happy Anniversaries with “There
anniversary is in November,” but to no one was paying attention by that time to
my original post, which I understand now could misunderstood..
The obsessive personality that I am I made
sure each well wisher knew my correct anniversary date. A friend responded back
with this comment: “Oops, guess we didn’t read
your entire post.” Let this be a lesson
to all that blindly following someone (whether on Facebook or in real-life) without all the facts might result in you
coming to the wrong conclusion, ending up somewhere you don’t want to be, or
looking like a well-meaning fool. If Carly had read my post correctly, she
could have kept the other people from looking foolish (to me).
Below are six ways to look like a fool:
Being quick tempered: When you are quick tempered and fly off into rage
often, you look like a fool. As you grow and mature spiritually, God calls you
to be patient. Understand this, you cannot control your temper until
you allow Jesus to help you to live the Christian life.
Refusing counsel: Seeking counsel from advisors, mentors, and those
who are older or wiser than you keeps you from being a fool. I love seeking
advice from those that are further along on their Christian walk. If you want
to be wise and succeed at anything, seek a well-selected support team. No one
likes people who act as if that person knows everything.
Repeating foolishness: If a dog throws up, (before you can clean it up)
they may try to eat it again. It’s foolish and gross for them to do. When you return
to doing the same mistake over and over again, you are a fool. When you follow God,
and then return to live a life like He does not exist you are once again being
a fool.
Saying there is no God: It confuses me how anyone can look at all of
creation and say there is no God, but it certainly happens. The more we try to
explain and understand God with science the further we move away from knowing
Him in the truth of the Bible. The
concept of God, Jesus, and the cross is stupidity to those who do not accept
it.
Scorning sin: When you fail to understand what sin is and what it
stands for you become foolish. If you do not believe in God, you don’t care
what He thinks about you. You must see sin for what it is. It is a living
entity inside us that is known as our “self.” When you see sin merely as an
act, rather than a living thing continually at war with God, you look like and
become a fool.
Talking too much: Do you know someone that won’t shut up? Many times you
can see right through their nonsensical talking. Their continual talking makes
them look like a fool, and usually gets them in trouble. Sometimes what you
don’t say is more powerful than what you can say. Learn to be quiet and choose
your words wisely. Secondly, do not respond back until you listen completely to
someone’s comment.
“Never argue with
stupid people. They will drag you down to their level, and then beat you with
experience.”
(Mark Twain)[i]
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