In the responsive reading in the lesson this week, 1 Corinthians 3:18 caught my attention. “Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise”. At first, this did not make sense. A fool by modern definition is “a silly or stupid person: a person who lacks judgement or sense” How could this lead to wisdom? In Proverbs, a fool is described as one who flaunts his folly: one who is reckless and careless. None of these lead to wisdom. Looking deeper into the origin of the word “fool”, I found that the Latin root, “follis” means “bellows or windbag” as used in a forge. Applied to a person it means “empty headed”. This gave a whole new meaning of the word “fool” It brought clarity that those of us who seem “wise in the world” should in fact become fools. We need to empty ourselves of all worldly thoughts, to become “empty headed” so that we may then be filled with Spiritual wisdom. The Bible says in James 3:11 “Doth a fountain send forth at the same place, sweet water and bitter?” We can no more harbour both Spiritual wisdom and worldly wisdom than can the fountain spout both sweet and bitter water.

Peter
Australia