From the LYWB.com team: After more than five years as a blog dedicated to exposing lies and replacing them with God’s truth in the lives of young women, we’ve decided to switch directions. From now on this blog will be dedicated entirely to the subject of goat herding
. You can follow us at our new url www.liesgoatherdersbelieve.com.
Clearly, I’ve never been good at practical jokes … as you can tell by my sad attempt above which is a) a day late for an April Fool’s Day prank and b) not very believable. But I wanted to get you thinking about the subject of fools. April Fool’s Day is a strange tradition where we create a national pastime out of making people feel foolish, but the truth is that foolishness is no joke.
Did you know that the Bible mentions the word "fool" nearly 200 times? Most of those references can be found in the books of Psalms and Proverbs as descriptions of a foolish person. These passages tell us that to be a fool is much worse than falling for a practical joke. A foolish person is likely to find themselves in a lot of trouble as a result of their foolish ways.
In fact, Proverbs 1:7 says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction."
One of the first hallmarks of a fool is that they plug their ears when someone offers them wise advice. If we want to avoid being fools, we need to be eager to learn all that God wants to teach us in His Word. With that in mind, I’d like to take a couple of days to study God’s definition of foolishness so that we can all seek to live like wise women.
Proverbs 7 describes a foolish woman. Certainly, guys can act foolishly too, but since this site is dedicated to the lies young women believe (NOT to lies goatherders believe), this passage is a great place to start as we seek to understand what foolishness truly looks like.
Let me encourage you to read the entire passage yourself, but here are some of the highlights.
A foolish woman…
- Flatters with her words (vv. 5, 21). In other words she is known to tell people what they want to hear and can be a flirt when it comes to the fellas.
- Puts herself in bad situations (v. 9).
- Dresses immodestly (v. 10).
- Is loud and attention seeking (v. 11).
- Is aggressive toward guys (v. 13).
Before you wave this passage off and assume that it could never be describing a Christian girl, notice what it says about her in verse 14:
"I had to offer sacrifices, and today I have paid my vows."
Home girl had been to church. She’d made sacrifices like a good girl should and probably dropped a few coins in the offering plate, but she came home and acted however she wanted to. She checked the boxes of someone living for God, but ultimately chose to live for herself. That is what foolishness looks like.
Which brings me to you. Do you have the characteristics of a foolish woman? Here are some specific questions to help you think that through.
- Do you tend to tell people what you think they want to hear even when it is an exaggeration or twist of the truth?
- Do you talk to guys in a way that makes them think you’re interested in them?
- Do you approach the guys you like first instead of waiting for them to pursue you?
- Do you frequently find yourself in bad situations or situations where you are tempted to sin because you don’t have good boundaries in place?
- What does the way that you dress communicate to those around you?
- Do you need to be the center of attention?
- Do you use your words, your talents, or your presence to grab the spotlight whenever possible?
- Do you go to church, read your Bible, or go to youth group but tend to be someone else entirely when you are away from that scene?
I’m not looking for "right" answers here. I bet that foolish woman in Proverbs 7 could have told me what I wanted to hear if I’d given her the chance. (Remember how good she is at flattering with her words?) But I would love for you to use this list as a jumping off point to think about areas where you might be living like the foolish woman.
We’ll chat more about how the Bible defines foolishness on Thursday, but for now I’ve got to run. I’ve got a goat blog to launch!
PS: For more on the foolish woman, check out this great article on Proverbs 7 by Lies Young Women Believe author Nancy Leigh DeMoss.