Exulting in the Cross

Proverbs 26:1 Like snow in summer or rain in harvest,
so honor is not fitting for a fool.

Nobody likes snow in the summertime. It's just not right. Summer is the time for gardens, for trips to the beach, for picnics at the park. It's just wrong to have snow in the summertime.

Nobody likes rain at harvest time. The farmers want to get out in the field with their massive combines, bringing in the corn. The drier it is, the better. It's just wrong to have rain at harvest.

Nobody likes seeing a fool honoured.

A few weeks ago, on October 9, the crowd gasped as the announcement was made that Barack Obama, president of the United States for less than two weeks, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

It was just wrong.

The announcement drew gasps of surprise and cries of too much, too soon. Yet President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday because the judges found his promise of disarmament and diplomacy too good to ignore.

The Easton's Bible dictionary defines "fool" as:

• One destitute of reason, or of the common powers of understanding; an idiot; a natural.

• A person deficient in intellect; one who acts absurdly, or pursues a course contrary to the dictates of wisdom; one without judgment; a simpleton; a dolt.

• One who acts contrary to moral and religious wisdom; a wicked person.

I can't say that President Obama is destitute of reason, nor is he deficient in intellect. However, his acceptance of a prize as prestigious as the Nobel Peace Prize was certainly absurd, and contrary to the dictates of wisdom.

He wasn't the biggest fool in the room, though. The five-member Nobel committee won that prize. Notice the following acknowledgement (emphasis mine):

The peace prize was created partly to encourage ongoing peace efforts, but Obama's efforts are at far earlier stages than those of past winners, and the committee acknowledged they may not bear fruit at all.

"If everything goes wrong, then one cannot say that this was because of Barack Obama," Jagland said. "It could be that it is because of us, all the others, that didn't respond. But I cannot exclude that Barack Obama also can contribute to the eventual failure."

The Bible has a lot to say about fools and those who honour them.

Proverbs 26:8 Like one who binds the stone in the sling is one who gives honor to a fool.

The kids and I were laughing today as we pictured someone with a stone tied in a slingshot. Simple physics teaches us that if the shooter tied the stone into the sling and pulled, chances are very great that the stone would bash him in the nose. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. The ESV notes say this:

One who fastens into a sling a stone that is meant to be flung out of the sling shows that he has neither the knowledge nor the skill to use it, and is in danger of hurting himself. Likewise, one who bestows honor on a fool shows a failure to understand the purpose of giving such recognition and stands to suffer harm when the fool proves unworthy of the honor and thus damages the reputation of the one who wrongly honored him.

Time will tell. But I'm guessing that the Nobel fools are going to be kicking themselves in the not too distant future.