Fools for Christ's Sake

1 Corinthians 4:9-16 “For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.

I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me.”

Due to peer pressures and our natural desire for social integration, we often feel the need to the be liked, respected, heard, and to find where we slot into society. The apostle Paul is pretty clear in his wording to the Corinthian church that we, as followers of the Lord, are going to be a spectacle, fools, and not respected by the secular society. It would be much more pleasant to be accepted and loved by everyone, but the fact is we are going to stick out as being different and not like those who choose to live their lives apart from the Lord. We are striving towards holiness and closeness with God while they may be striving for the empty pleasures of the world such as physical pleasure, monetary gain, fame, power, and the like. As we are trying to choose a life of humility over climbing a societal ladder, people may revile us or persecute us. We must remember to bless them with sincere kindness and pray for them. We must endure and not lose heart, but persevere for the Lord.

This perseverance for the Lord, despite getting constant negative feedback from the secular society, makes us fools for Christ. Indeed, it will appear as foolishness to those perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18). When I was an atheist, I positioned myself among the intellectual and scientific thinkers of our generation and believed that they had the best understanding for the beginning of the universe, the evolution of the species, and the meaning of life. Christianity appeared to me at the time as foolishness. However, by the power of God, He has opened my eyes that the foolishness was saying there was no God when the fingerprints of God are all over the universe and creation. His artistic signature is everywhere.

Now I have become a fool for Christ’s sake and willing to endure the scorn of those same intellectual thinkers. Are you willing to suffer the scorn, shame, and cursing of the secular world for the Lord Jesus? If you are a follower of the Lord and are trying to please both God and man, remember that Christ suffered for your sake. He didn’t attempt to soothe the ego of rulers and pharisees. He preached the truth and as a result, people tried to shame Him, slander Him as a sinner, accuse Him of being evil, hated Him to the point of death, physically abused Him, and crucified Him. He did all of this for you, for me, for them. He brought the truth that we may have life in Him.

Be not afraid to be a fool for Christ’s sake.