Have you been a fool?

Today is the day for jokers and teasers to officially get away with what they do on other days. April Fools’ Day is a day sanctioned for practical jokes and straining credulity. One has license for tomfoolery.

To me, saying “April Fools’ ” after the set-up is a bit like adding, “Bless her heart...” after having said something that is not up-building or edifying. It supposedly erases the corrosion of the words that came before.

Scripture gives us confusing, if not contradictory, direction about the word “fool.” Some of the strongest language in the Bible is found in Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:22. Call someone a fool and go to hell. David, run out by King Saul, played the fool (spraying graffiti on Gath’s buildings) in order to survive, then Saul repents and admits that he played, or was, the fool. (I Samuel 21:13, and 26:21, respectively.)

Bottom line: It is okay to call yourself a fool, but not to call someone else a fool. Even the A-Team’s “Mr. T.” knew how to walk the fine line — “Pity the fool!” (OK, so his voice on Garmin will call you a fool if you make a wrong turn.)

What causes foolish behavior? Proverbs 23:31 says wine is a sure cause for foolishness. Wine and beer lead to foolish behavior in Psalm 20:1, whereas per Psalm 14:1, foolishness begins with saying there is no God.

So, behavior, choices and non-theistic mindset can lead one to act foolish. Swirl the glass, hold it up to the light, stick your nose in it, take a liberal philosophy class — you are on the road to fool’s paradise. Talk atheism at a wine-tasting and you’re really playing with fire — from a Biblical perspective.

The results of foolishness? Ecclesiastes 10:2 says being a fool will put you on the wrong road. (Maybe Mr. T was biblical on our GPS!)

So, don’t be a fool or call anyone a fool.

But, didn’t Jesus lose his temper, or express righteous indignation, and call people fools in Matthew 23:17? Yes. The takeaway, going back to Psalm 14:1, is that God gets to call us fools. And, since we are not God, we don’t have that right.

Who wants to look like a fool? No one. Who wants to be known as a fool? No one. Who wants to feel foolish? No one.

Yet the Apostle Paul was willing to be foolish. He put all of the pride and self-respect aside for the sake of being a witness to the power of the resurrection, the wisdom of God, and new life found in the Messiah. He would let go of his past — no easy thing — in order to explore an alternative future. And, he could let go of his reputation, diplomas, awards and superlatives for the sake of sharing the Good News.

In I Corinthians 4:10, Paul lays it out there: They will be fools for Christ so that others will be wise in Christ. Earlier, in Chapter 1, he twice sets out that his message will sound like foolishness (verses 18 and 21).

Here’s my prayerful takeaway: With all your head and spirit, I hope you find a good cause that makes this world a better place for your having been in it, and a good cause that makes a better place for some people around you.

People make some foolish decisions. They may have not listened to the solid counsel of Proverbs. But hurt people need some other people to be fools. The world needs fools.

Pity the fool? No, bless the fool who invests in others and shares directions that lead to life and community. No joking!