Are You a Fool?!

I Cor. 1:26-27

Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards…but God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

I was in the Nike store the other week and I was looking at some shoes when a young man with a gold grill, braids and white T-shirt approached me and said, “Hey fool, you work here?” I calmly replied, “No man, I don’t work here.” He said, “Sorry about that, thanks.” For some reason I wasn’t offended. For one I knew that’s the greeting that most young men give each other in the streets and then secondly, I am a fool...for Christ.

The old folks used to say, “God watches over babies and fools.” When I think back on when I was first called to be used by God, I qualified for the fool category. I loved God but I was ignorant to his way and lost in my own way of doing things. I didn’t come from a long line of royalty or wealth; I was smart but not wise. I didn’t have any fans or followers, but God decided to put his hands on me anyway.

God purposely looks out for fools to confuse the wise. He looks for the weak to mess up the strong. When it’s all said and done you and I can’t take any credit for what only God can do. I can’t really tell you how God took us from 60 people to 18,000 people in ten years of existence as a church. I think when we attempt to start explaining it and taking credit for it, that’s when God removes his hands off of it. The only thing I can truly say is that God loved me enough to use me and he can use you too.

Here are the criteria for being used by God:

1. Not very wise. Solomon says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom. When Solomon became King after his father David, he told God, “I don’t know what I’m doing.” And he asked God for Wisdom. If you don’t know what you are doing but you get out of the way and let God use you, he can make you wise. Don’t use the excuse that you don’t know how to do it to stop God from using you to do it.

2. Not many were influential. Leadership is influence. If you are leading and no one is following, you’re just taking a long lonely walk. People follow you because they are influenced by God’s spirit in you. God gives charisma or gifts for people to lead. You can use those gifts for good or bad. How you use them determines if God continues to let you lead.

3. Not of Noble birth. God often chooses people of the smallest clan and tribes to lead his people. i.e. Gideon, David, Jesus. Despise not small beginnings. I was born in a town with a population smaller than the size of my church. I love God’s sense of humor. If you come from a small place or a lowly place, you are a good candidate for God to do something big through you.

So if you are going to do any bragging about what you’ve been able to accomplish, let me ask you something: “Hey Fool, do you work here? Hey fool, did you graduate because you were so smart? Hey fool, did you really do all this by yourself?” My reply is: “No, I didn’t and I’m not a fool! I am a fool for Christ.”

Dear God,

Thank you for choosing me to serve you and lead your people. You’ve made my stumbling look like steps and my guessing look like genius. I really don’t know how you did it or why you did it but I’m so glad that you did it. Even though the world may think that I’m a fool for serving Jesus, I will be the biggest fool I can and serve you all the more because I know too much about you for them to make me doubt you. I am a fool for Christ.

In Jesus Name,

Amen