Proverbs 29: 9 If a wise man contends with a foolish
man, whether the fool rages or
laughs, there is no peace.
Proverbs
29:9. Comedian Ron White said that you
can get laser surgery to correct your vision; you can get plastic surgery to
tighten your skin; you can get ear implants to restore your hearing------ “But
you can’t fix stupid.”
Now
Mr. White isn’t exactly a theologian, but his bit does hit on a recurring idea
in the Bible.
And
that’s a hard saying, especially for us preachers, teachers, change-the-world
type crusaders. We’re out there every day
and up late into the night trying to find an actual, non-rhetorical answer to
the question: How do you help somebody who doesn’t want to be helped?
People
keep telling us that the answer is: You can’t.
But
we just keep asking the question anyway.
And
then we come to what Jesus said: Do not
give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they
trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces. (Matthew 7:
6)
We
want to teach. They don’t want to
learn. We can’t both have what we want,
so we argue. We rage. They rage. Or, we argue at them, and they laugh at us for
arguing with ourselves.
What’s
ironic is that after all the trying to teach, all the casting of pearls, all
the begging the boy to listen, the person who’s most frustrated is the wise
would-be teacher who has the knowledge and therefore, supposedly, the power.
(P.S. Knowledge and power don’t always = PEACE)
You
can tell people what they need to learn.
You can show people the solution to their problems. You can explain, illustrate, and demonstrate
by living example the way to better, the truth about progressing, and the life
that pleases God. But, if they don’t want
to learn, then they won’t be taught.
Told. But not taught.
You/
I/ We can’t fix foolish.
It’s
impossible.
Which
brings us back to God.
And
those who heard it said, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus said, “The things which are
impossible with men are possible with God.” (Luke 18: 26, 27)
The
Biblical principles are: (1) You can’t
fix foolish; and (2) With God no problem is unfixable.
Therefore,
the solution is to bring the fools to God, and to bring God to bear on the
foolishness.
When
the right intellectual, social, financial, political, and personal resources
don’t solve the problem, it means that the main problem isn’t intellectual, social, financial, or political. The primary problem is SPIRITUAL.
When
the proven programs and policies aren’t making a dent in the dilemma, then you don’t
simply have a troubled community, you have a SPIRITUAL stronghold.
Now,
it’s laziness and sin for the church to neglect physical needs under the supposedly
Christian slogan of “Just Give ‘Em the Gospel.” (James
2: 15-17; James
4: 17)
But
it’s also foolish for the church to forget that our greatest resource, our
final and first line of defense and plan of attack is the invisible power of PRAYER.
Then Jesus
spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart (Luke 18:1).
When
they’re like pit bulls attacking you for the holiness you represent, PRAY because
God can transform a dog into an example of miraculous faith (Matthew
15: 26-28)
When
you’ve exhausted your most valuable resources but they keep turning on you and
wallowing in their old mess, PRAY because God can transform an unclean life
into a clean one.
What
God has cleansed you must not call unclean (Acts
11: 9).
You
can’t fix foolish.
God
can.
---Anderson T.
Graves II
Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is the pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church
Call/ fax:
334-288-0577
Email us at
hallmemorialcme1@aol.com
Friend Pastor
Graves at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves
If you want to be a
blessing to this ministry, contributions may be made by check or money order.
Mail all
contributions to :
Hall Memorial CME
Church
541 Seibles Road
Montgomery, AL
36116
