"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death."
It's possible to be convinced that something is good and true and right but also be completely wrong about it. It's possible to be convinced that something is harmless when actually the thing will destroy us. Not all poisons are clearly marked.
Here is just one example from history. Before he was elected 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln was taking a medication called "blue pills" or "blue mass" to ease his depression. This was a common medication at the time that was thought to cure many different ailments. Today, we are appalled to realize the main ingredient in Blue Pills was MERCURY. We now know mercury is really bad for humans and Blue Pills contained toxic levels. People were convinced that Blue Pills were beneficial but the medicine was actually destroying them.
This is a very frightening reality about our humanity. We may think we are going the right way in life but we can be and often are deceived. Some poisons are clearly marked but we choose to ignore the warnings. Some poisons are cleverly disguised and our lack of knowledge makes the deception all the more surprising when we consume them.
It's difficult to admit but we don't know everything. Humanity has limits. Our modern world likes to believe that advances in science and education will eventually solve our problems. Technology has placed the knowledge of the world at our fingertips. Yet we struggle to make sense of it or to apply it correctly. We struggle to make choices that bring life rather than death. We are far more foolish than we'd like to believe.
A fool is a person who lacks judgment or sense. A fool is a person who has been tricked or deceived. Are we not fools? That might sound harsh but we have a serious problem that advice, science, medicine, and education can’t fix. We have a spiritual problem - a problem at the heart level. The best that humanity has come up with can’t cure the sickness in our souls. Our human abilities can't remove the poison.
In the Bible, being a fool is a much more serious choice because a fool is someone who has rejected God. Being a fool is a heart problem.
Proverbs 1:7
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction."
What is true of the fool? A fool despises God’s wisdom, he hates it, he doesn’t want to be taught or trained by God. And ultimately he feels this way because he has rejected God's rule - he has rejected God. According to the Bible, a fool is "wise in his own eyes." A fool relies only on himself and thinks that on his own he can figure out all the important things of life - without God.
So a fool is not someone who is uneducated. The fool is not someone who lacks knowledge or experience. The fool is someone who rejects God and his wisdom. A fool is someone who refuses to submit to God's rule. It's possible to have health, wealth, or education and still be a fool. It's possible to be poor or uneducated and still be a fool. Are we not the fools? The sad truth is that we are.
Humanities biggest problem is that we have rejected God. We look to things other than God to bring us happiness. We love to follow our heart and do things our own way. We seek wisdom apart from God. Some of us believe in God but trust him with only a few areas of our life and operate independently of him in the rest. Our foolishness is sin. It’s a rebellion against God.
Apart from God's work in our lives, we are fools. We drink the poison of sin and foolishness. We need to be saved from our foolishness.
But the Bible also promises that our hearts can be restored. We can become wise. We can stop drinking the poison of sin and begin drinking the pure waters of God's eternal life.
Proverbs 28:13
"Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy."
Right living comes from a right relationship with God. When we let God deal with our sins we open our lives to his wisdom. He makes us wise, not by human knowledge, but by the knowledge of him. This can only happen because the death and resurrection of Jesus resolve the problem of our sin and foolishness. The poison can't be removed by us but by Jesus himself.
When we accept that Jesus is able to save us from our foolish sins we receive true life that can be lived joyfully for God’s glory. We receive Jesus who is the source of true wisdom. He becomes our king, our friend, our life - and he begins to change us. We become connected to the source of wisdom. The wisdom of God guides us. We become aware of the poisons around us. The result is that we leave the path of death and begin travelling the path that leads to life.
Colossians 2:2-3
"My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."