Speaker: Dr. Harold J. Sala | Series: Guidelines For Living | …I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly. 1 Samuel 26:21, KJV

You will find those words in the Old Testament of your Bible. They are part of a conversation that took place a long while ago‑‑in fact, 3000 years ago. They came from the lips of a man who suddenly realized how stupid a thing he had done. Have you ever felt like that? All of a sudden it hit you, and you knew in a flash that you had blundered, possibly too late to do much about it.

You are like the man who wanted to send a special gift to his friend‑‑so he went to the pet shop and bought a trained parrot who could recite 1 Corinthians 13, the 23rd Psalm, and the Sermon on the Mount. It was a very expensive bird, but he bought it anyway and sent it to his friend along with a card. Calling a few days later, he inquired, “Did you receive my gift?” “Yes, how thoughtful of you to send it.” “Did you like it?” he inquired. After a moment came the reply, “Yes, very much. It was delicious!”

“I have played the fool!” said Saul long ago. The man who spoke those words was a case study of extremes. Physically, he was a giant among men, but he was a pygmy in understanding. He was a hero, but a coward. He was a prophet, but an apostate; a king, but a slave to his insecurity. He was anointed by God to lead a nation, but groveled in the dust before the sorcerer at Endor. He had such promise, but failed so miserably. Like a Roman candle that starts up in a blaze of fire, he fizzled and sputtered so ignominiously.

Have you ever played the fool? Possibly you realized it the day after, or when the bills caught up with you, or when the loneliness of your heart cried out in pain. You walked away from a good marriage and a good person because you were mesmerized by the thrill of the moment. You, like Saul, played the fool. But the story doesn’t have to end there. Almost everyone at sometime or another plays the fool by violating his or her conscience. The light begins to flash on the instrument panel of your life that says, “You’ve been had! You really blundered! What you did was really stupid!”

A person who realizes he or she has made a grave mistake is in a position to do an about-face and change the future. Acknowledging that you have blown it is the first step to reversing the past. To refuse to take positive steps only compounds the error that has already been committed. Acknowledging your mistake is the first step towards wisdom in reversing the foolish thing you did.

If you have played the fool, may I suggest that you read the Old Testament book of Hosea and picture yourself as having gone astray. Listen to the voice of the Lord saying, “I will heal your waywardness and love you freely; my anger has turned away…”

Oswald Chambers once wrote, “I am not several kinds of fools in one; I am only one kind of fool‑‑the kind that believes and obeys God.” Are you that kind of fool? Are you the kind who recognizes that the path of happiness is the one that includes repentance and restoration, and you come back to the father in humility?

The only person who really is a fool is the one who refuses to ask forgiveness, who refuses to do an about-face, who is too stubborn to say, “I have failed you; please forgive me!” Yes, realizing you have played the fool is the first step towards wisdom.

Resource reading: 1 Samuel 26.