FROM THE DAWGHOUSE…
Being Fools for Christ
“We are fools for Christ…” (1 Corinthians 4:10)
What does it mean to be a fool for Christ?
The world has a pretty clear idea of what a fool looks like. A fool is someone who makes bad decisions, throws away opportunities, or believes something that everyone else knows cannot possibly be true. A fool is someone who refuses to live by common sense.
And then there are those who follow Jesus.
Think about the disciples. They weren’t sitting around waiting for a convenient time to change their lives. They were fishermen, tax collectors, ordinary men with ordinary routines, ordinary responsibilities, and most likely, ordinary dreams for their futures. Then Jesus came along and said, “Follow me.”
And they did.
Peter and Andrew left their nets. James and John left their boat and their father. Matthew left his tax collector’s booth. They walked away from the familiar to follow someone they barely understood at the time. They didn’t have a five-year plan, a guarantee of success, or a promise that life would get easier.
They had Jesus. And that was enough to make them go.
Imagine what people must have thought. What kind of person abandons a livelihood to follow a traveling teacher? What kind of person risks reputation, security, and eventually even life itself for someone the powerful want silenced? To the world, it must have looked foolish. But the disciples had discovered something the world couldn’t see – there was someone greater than themselves and following Him mattered more than holding on to everything they knew.
Paul understood this. When he called himself a fool for Christ, he wasn’t celebrating ignorance or encouraging people to abandon reason. He knew exactly what it cost to follow Jesus. He had endured ridicule, imprisonment, beatings, and rejection. Yet he considered knowing Christ worth more than the approval of the people around him.
So, what does being a fool for Christ look like today?
It might mean standing up for biblical truth when remaining silent would make life easier. It might mean choosing integrity when dishonesty would benefit us. It might mean forgiving someone who doesn’t deserve it, loving someone who cannot repay us, or giving generously when the world tells us to look out for ourselves. Sometimes it means being the only person in the room who believes that Jesus is not merely a good teacher, but the risen Lord who deserves our whole lives. And sometimes it means being willing to admit that we don’t have all the answers, while refusing to abandon the One in whom we have placed our faith.
Let’s be honest. We care what people think. We want to fit in. We want to be respected, accepted, and understood. There’s nothing inherently wrong with those desires. But when the fear of what others might think keeps us from following Jesus faithfully, their approval has become too important.
Being a fool for Christ doesn’t mean being reckless, obnoxious, or looking for arguments. It means being so convinced of the worth of Jesus that we are willing to follow Him when the world thinks we’ve lost our minds. The disciples left their nets. Paul surrendered his status. Countless believers throughout history have risked everything rather than deny their Lord.
What about us?
Perhaps the question isn’t whether the world thinks we’re fools. Perhaps the question is whether our lives reveal that we believe Jesus is worth following, whatever the cost. Because if Jesus really is who He says He is, then the greatest foolishness of all may not be giving up everything to follow Him…
It may be spending our entire lives protecting the very things that keep us from doing so.
-Joe Bouch
