Foolishness

Everyday there is a new challenge in our life that tests our very character. The decisions that we make on every challenge shows a mature character or an immature and foolish character. Have you ever noticed that you are not often challenged on traits that you are strongest in? For example if marital faithfulness is a challenge for you, why have you not stopped attending “boys night out” at the bar scene?

Countless unfaithful spouses have said “I wasn’t looking for an affair, it just happened.” Countless alcoholics get behind the wheel of a car believing “I can handle my liquor.” Something feeds on our weaknesses like a parasite that consumes its host. Foolishness is caused by our inability to make good decisions and there are many reasons why we make bad decisions.

“He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But he who walks wisely will be delivered.” -Proverbs 28:26 (NASB)

All the decisions that we make will have consequences in the future and this is one of the problems with decisions. There will always be a level of the uncertainty the future holds on the decisions we make. Our arrogance believes that we can calculate the possibilities of the outcome but we fool ourselves if we think that we can predict random events. In 1796 astronomer Pierre-Simon De Laplace wrote an article about the philosophical nature of man to attempt to predict all probabilities[1]. Today his research is being incorporated into the field of psychology and is widely known as the Gamblers fallacy.

We believe that we can play the odds, get on a “winning streak”. We assume that poor events are a “streak of bad luck”. When we make decisions, we attempt to form a list of the possible outcomes of the decision.  We think of things such as “Will I get caught?”, “The police are not out tonight!”, “As long as I am home by midnight, I’ll be OK!” and so on. These become our plans or expectations for the future possibilities. These expectancies then “forms the basis for virtually all behavior”. [2] One element toward foolishness is this belief that we can play the odds and beat the house. The wise man knows that the house always wins.

“The wisdom of the sensible is to understand his way, But the foolishness of fools is deceit.” -Proverbs 14:8 (NASB)

Another reason for poor choices is found in our own bounded rationality. A bounded rationality is defined as the limited abilities of the human mind. This can either be from a genetic limitation or more often from a misguided priority structure in a person’s life. For instance a truly wise person can learn from other people’s mistakes.  I can read about other business models used by different businesses and decide for myself which one will work best for me. Therefore having a priority of higher education, reading, and a life of religious devotion can increase a person’s rationality in their decisions.

Our rationality is the process by which our minds function. The old saying is then true: “Garage in Garbage out.” The human mind’s process in making even the smallest decision requires more knowledge then any computer can handle.[3] Humans can only improve their inherent decision making ability by increasing their knowledge, experiences, and by aligning their priorities.

“How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing And fools hate knowledge?” -Proverbs 1:22 (NASB)

When people are faced with evidence that is contradictory to their foundational belief system, they will lean more towards evidence that supports their beliefs rather than change. [4] This is known as the disconfirmation bias and can be a huge road block in making good decisions (especially religious decisions). In a manner of speaking we blind ourselves to the evidence presented before us due to the belief that our own thoughts and beliefs are more authoritative than any other view another person may have. In order to overcome this challenge to the human mind we must be willing to examine a significant amount of evidence and make an educated decision. When we are challenged by alternative view points, one must research and educated themselves on the subject matter before a rational decision can be made.

Consider the research that has been done on the study of any negative effects video games may have on human behavior and the continued growth of the industry. “The latest brain research shows that violent games activate the anger center of the teenage brain while dampening the brain’s conscience.”[5] Despite the evidence and even the disclaimer of seizures on the covers of many games, gamers continue to play and for hours on end. Even the slightest change in human behavior over such a large population of human being can change the social structure significantly[6]. Yet we do it because we believe we will be alright. And for the same reason many people do not come to Jesus Christ.

“A fool does not delight in understanding, But only in revealing his own mind.” - Proverbs 18:2 (NASB)

Everyone is aware of the effect society can have on people. As teenagers in school we were told of the dangers of peer pressure but that pressure never left us when we became adults. The fact is that people respond to the social influences around them and the people they associate with. These pressures increase or decrease depending on factors such as: the number of people, your relationship to them, and the strength of their influence over you. This is known as the social impact model of behavior[7]. The four or five people closest to you have the most influence over you. Have you ever notice that when you are in a meeting and your opinion is in the minority, you are hesitant to speak up?  That is the social impact on your behavior occurring.

When this occurs you must do your homework. You should find out if there is a single person and issue behind the influence and verify with your own moral compass.

“He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will suffer harm.” -Proverbs 13:20 (NASB)

All of these reasons for foolish behavior have been practiced by us in one shape or another throughout our lives. For this reason we relate to others who we see making many of the mistakes we ourselves have made. Although we may never have indulged in adult beverages and driven a vehicle, we can relate to a fool who does when we know of our own secret addictions. This is a valuable principle for everyone to understand that we view another’s foolishness through our own foolish eyes.

So there is hope for us all because we are all fools. We all make bad decisions from time to time, we all forget an anniversary from time to time, and we all allow some of our bad habits to take over as well. There is hope for the fool to learn to come to the understanding of knowledge and improve him or herself. In many cases this is exactly what repentance is in the bible. Each of the reasons listed above for making foolish mistakes has a human behavior associated to it (a behavior that the bible had pointed out centuries before). These behaviors can be changed by the application of knowledge and the creation of good habits in your life. We tolerate fools because of our wisdom in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 11:19) because we understand that the knowledge of Jesus Christ can be applied to those willing to hear the Word. We ourselves have been changed by the Word already and can attest to this fact.

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” -Romans 10:17 (NASB)

The bible teaches many lessons on the application of knowledge to the repentance of a person. Anyone who does not follow the Lord Christ is a person, who has not examined the evidence, sought out good counsel, followed their friend’s poor judgment, allowed their own immoral bias to guide them or simply has not heard. 1 Timothy 2:3-4 says “This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (NASB). This verse shows the important role that knowledge plays into the plan of salvation. Salvation from our previous “foolishness” is then bound together with the acquisition of knowledge. In other words the true knowledge is the key to breaking our foolishness. Luke 1:76-77  declares of Jesus: “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; For you will go on BEFORE THE Lord TO PREPARE HIS WAYS; To give to His people the knowledge of salvation By the forgiveness of their sins,” (NASB).  This is the true knowledge of the forgiveness of sins.

Maturity is the result of application of this knowledge. This knowledge is responsible for creating the right relationship with Jesus Christ and we can grow out of our foolishness. 1 Peter 2:2 says “like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,” (NASB). This verse describes the Word being like pure milk for the nutrition of the believer so that they may grow.

The knowledge and the relationship with Jesus Christ is the cure to our own foolish character.

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[1] Laplace, Pierre-Simon de (1796). A philosophical essay on probabilities. Republished by Dover (New York) in 1951.

[2] Olson, J.M., Roese N.J., & Zanna, M.P. (1996). Expectancies. In E.T. Higgins & A.W. Kruglanski (Eds.), Social psychology: Handbook of basic principles (pp. 211-238). New York: Guilford Press.

[3] Newell, A., & Simon, H. A. (1972). Human problem solving. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall

[4] Edwards K. & Smith E. E. (1996). A disconfirmation bias in the evaluation of arguments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 5-24.

[5] Walsh, David Ph.D. Ninth Annual MediaWise Video Game Report Card, et. al., 2004

[6] Vorderer, Peter & Bryant, Jennings. Playing video games: motives, responses, and consequences, LEA's communication series, Routledge, 2006, pp. 355

[7] Latané, B. and Wolf, S. (1981) The social impact of majorities and minorities, Psychological Review, 88, 438-453