How would you describe a fool? What type of behavior would you classify as “foolish?” We often think foolish people are those who are ignorant, don’t know better, or act silly. But at the end of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, the Lord provides a simple definition of foolishness. Jesus says, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man…And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man…”
Foolishness is not the same as ignorance—in fact, they’re pretty different. The fool is the person who knows what they should do—they see what Jesus teaches and what Jesus demands—but they choose not to obey. The ignorant person can learn, but the fool acts stubbornly and rebelliously.
Don’t settle for ignorance. Learn what God commands. But once learned, don’t be a fool—let God’s word change and transform you instead of persisting in sin and folly.