Foolishness seems to be the overriding characteristic of society today. The things going on around our nation, especially in the big cities, leaves you shaking your head in disbelief. How could people behave so incredibly selfishly, with no apparent thought of the feelings or wellbeing of others?

When primarily young people smash store windows and loot, start fires on cars, and assault policemen; when old people are attacked by young thugs; and when the flag of our country is brazenly lit on fire and desecrated, foolishness is on full display.

Has our country lost its collective mind? Is there no longer a general observance of respect for others and basic compassion? What could be behind all this chaos, causing all this unrest and rioting?

The simple answer is all the rebellious, hateful activity is man rejecting the authority of God in his life. When we exclude God from our lives, and reject the principles from His Word, we are destined to travel down a path that leads to destruction.

Foolishness is the failure to apply His truth to our lives. When we act upon our feelings, and ignore the counsel of those God has placed over us, we will fail. The book of Proverbs states, ‘There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end, thereof, are the ways of death.’ (Prov. 14:12).

Foolishness is part of the nature of toddlers. They seem to be determined to do things their own way. Tell a two-year-old not to touch something, and watch as a look of defiance overshadows them. They will immediately become committed to touching that item, no matter what. They do foolish things because they have not yet learned to obey their authority.

Somewhere along the way, young children must learn the life-saving principle of obedience. For too many, that principle is somehow missed, leaving them to go through disastrous teenage years, bucking every authority in their lives. If they don’t learn to accept their responsibility to submit by the time they are adult, their foolishness will cost them dearly.

The apostle Paul was burdened for the church at Corinth. He learned that the young church was experiencing a long list of problems. Immaturity among its members was badly hurting their reputation in the community. To them he wrote in…

1 Corinthians 14:20 Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men.

Paul’s admonition is for all churches, even today. We all need a reminder to grow up a little. Especially is this seen in some of the foolish things we say and do.

Let’s commit ourselves by faith to obey those God places over us, and let’s be the ‘grownups’ we were meant to be, for His glory.

The church is God’s solution to acquainting the world with Christ. Of all the institutions on earth, the church is singularly equipped and commissioned to carry the message of the Gospel to the lost. The church is correctly called the Body of Christ, as it is not only a representation of Him, it is the practical working of the Lord Jesus now that He is in Heaven with His Father.

Simply put, the church is an organized body of baptized believers. The real church is not the building in which the church meets, it is literally the people who make up that assembly. We casually refer to the edifices across the world adorned with crosses and steeples, but they only provide comfortable accommodations for the church to meet.

The church has been tasked with reaching the world with the Gospel, there is no ‘back-up’ plan. If the church fails to share Christ, the world is doomed. It is no wonder that since its conception the church has been in the crosshairs of the devil. He knows that if he can keep the church from doing its job, he will stop having people escape from their destiny in hell.

The devil has been a constant threat to the church, and has found that one of his most effective tactics in debilitating the church is getting it members focused inward. If they become more concerned with things going on inside the church, they will ignore, then forget those on the outside.

One way he has learned to keep the church inward focused is by agitating the congregation. If he can get us fighting with one another, we’ll be too busy to talk to anybody about their soul. It is sad to consider how many churches are characterized not by their love, but by their fighting.

What can be done to keep the church engaged in its God-given mission? Paul spoke to that question in…

Ephesians 4:2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Pride is the reason there is so much strife among church members. He wrote that they must reflect the lowliness and meekness of Christ. They were to focus on Him, not on themselves, or their own desires.

They were to be longsuffering, or patient with each other, realizing that we all come with shortcomings and problems. Christ is patient with us, we must be the same to each other.

And, we must ‘forbear one another.’ Simply put, it means to endure, or put up with those who are different than us. We all have certain personalities that tend to rub us the wrong way. The church must be a place where we choose to get along in the name of Christ.

Thank God for the church. Let’s keep it a place of unity and peace.