Growing up, my father (of blessed memory) used to warn people: “don’t be silly.” The reason is because foolishness destroys and strips people of their dignity and honor. It causes people to make wrong decisions. It causes people to waste away unnecessarily. The reality is that we all have the tendency to act foolishly sometimes but we must guard against living foolishly. We must strive to not be silly!
As I began to search the Bible, I realized that even apostle Paul wrote something to that effect to the Christians at Ephesus in his days. He told them not to be foolish because that is acting contrary to their God-given nature. Remember that the only wise God gave birth to us through His wisdom by the word of truth, so it behooves us to live and act as the wise people we are in all our endeavors.
Therefore see that you walk carefully [living life with honor, purpose, and courage; shunning those who tolerate and enable evil], not as the unwise, but as wise [sensible, intelligent, discerning people], the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times! Don’t live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants.”
(Eph 5: 15, Amplified)
Apostle Paul told us that we are responsible to live wisely and in order not to act foolishly, we must be sensible, reasonable, and understand what God wants from us. We must understand that it is no longer business as usual. We must start to act in ways that really represent and reflect our understanding of the times that we live in. We need to pay attention to our relationships with God, our lives, and live as though everything is at stake because they are.
As we journey through life, we must be aware that life will test our level of intelligence and we must show how wise we are through our choices, words, relationships, attitudes, and actions. We must be careful of what we allow to catch our attention and not only what we pay attention to.
Apostle Paul told us that in order not to act foolishly, we must be sensible, reasonable, and understand what God wants from us.
We must, therefore, base our vision and plan on what God wants us to do. In other words, plan your life within the context and parameters of God’s will. This implies that God knows what we should be doing at a particular time. So, we must surrender to Him to direct our steps and orchestrate us to be where He wants us to be. There is a need to be aware of what God wants to do with our time hence our lives individually and collectively.
Living foolishly is not recognizing the time we are in. We cannot allow ourselves to be caught up in the mundane things of life. We must live both in retrospect and introspect. Acting wisely is doing the best we can as we can when we can, at the right place, at the right time, and with the right people. In other words, we must spend our lives on what truly matters at every opportunity we have.
We should not give what is precious to people who will treat it as common.
In addition, acting wisely is seeking and asking for the right help without shame when you need it. Some of us are suffering in silence. We don’t know how to reach out to the right support. There are people out there who God has strategically placed around you to help you fulfill your dream and aspirations. They are good at what they do and you must engage them to get the best from them.
To act wisely is to understand the value and worth of our lives and the people around us. Unfortunately, some of us don’t know what is precious to us so we don’t attach any worth to anything or we sometimes attach value to things that don’t really matter. We must learn to value our relationship with God and our time. We must invest our time instead of spending it.
A fool walks in dishonor. When we live in dishonor, we will cause things to depreciate in our lives. We will devalue and debase our lives. Jesus advised us not to give what is holy to dogs lest they trample on it. What this means is that we should not give what is precious to people who will treat it as common. Many spouses today are acting foolishly by taking themselves for granted. If you are one of those, you must decide to start acting differently by treating your spouse as the precious person they are.
Remember that the only wise God gave birth to us through His wisdom by the word of truth, so it behooves us to live as the wise people we are in all our endeavors.
It is wise to understand, embrace, and celebrate your uniqueness. You must know that you are not like everybody. You are you and others are others. It is silly to compare yourself with others. When you constantly compare yourself, you can either overrate or underrate yourself. You will sell yourself short and misrepresent yourself in the process. You must learn to run your own race in accordance with the grace of God using His standard as your yardstick.
To act wisely, you must value wisdom by acting on God’s word. A foolish person thinks that acting foolishly is like playing sports. They derive pleasure in acting stupidly. When people act foolishly, they are acting in a way that is inconsistent with God’s nature in them.
Wisdom is knowing what to say, when to say, and how to say it. Some of us don’t have any guard or control over our mouths, we speak anyhow and sometimes what we speak does not make sense. Some of us actually utter what we don’t understand. We spread inaccurate information without verifying its truthfulness. We must learn how to speak rightly. Speak words that will build up people. Speak clearly. It is wise not to talk about everything you see. Conserve your words. Be a person of few words and learn to be quiet as much as you can.
Moreover, we must understand that we are growing beings. We will make mistakes sometimes, but we must learn from them, correct ourselves and then act differently because of what we have learned. Don’t shy away from living because you are afraid of making mistakes. Do what you must and be ready to take responsibility for your actions. Don’t shift blames. Accept that you are wrong when you are and be willing and ready to apologize in the process. Constantly and consistently evaluate your steps and make necessary corrections.
Wisdom is knowing what to say, when to say, and how to say it.
It is also important to move with the right people. Anyone who walks with the wise will eventually be wise. We must pay attention to the people we allow into our circle. No relationship will leave you the same. You are influenced in one way or the other by everyone you come in contact with. They can make you smarter or foolish in the process. So, choose your friends carefully because they will determine the direction of your life.
There is a purpose to everything in life. Every resource that comes our way at different times has a different reason for it. Therefore, understand why we have whatever we have and use them for what they are meant for. It is wisdom to put the right resources towards the right end.
We must be careful of what we allow to catch our attention and not only what we pay attention to.
Please understand that you cannot trust a foolish person with your secrets because they will reveal them without your permission. A foolish person cannot hold secrets. So, don’t tell them what you don’t want another person to hear.
By their nature, a foolish person finds it difficult to stop doing what they know is wrong. In fact, they enjoy doing what is wrong because they think is fun. A fool is wise in their own eyes. They refuse to listen to others or yield to the voice of reason. They are full of themselves, so they don’t have room for progressive learning. They think they know everything and they are beyond listening to or following instructions. They reject wise counsel.
It is wisdom to put the right resources towards the right end
Acting foolishly is expensive and can negatively impact our lives. It can cause us to lose opportunities, relationships, progress. No one will want to associate with a foolish person. A fool will suffer unnecessarily. Just like my father had said many times, I am saying the same to you: don’t be silly!