¹ Only fools say in their hearts,
    “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, and their actions are evil;
    not one of them does good!

² The Lord looks down from heaven
    on the entire human race;
he looks to see if anyone is truly wise,
    if anyone seeks God.
³ But no, all have turned away;
    all have become corrupt.^[a]
No one does good,
    not a single one!

   Growing up, I was the kid who just couldn’t seem to fit in with the crowd. I was clumsy, slow and chubby. I excelled at music and drama and academics. I had an interest in all things paranormal and worst of all I dressed funny. It seemed there was at least one thing in me everyone could dislike. Sometimes it bothered me that I wasn’t more widely accepted by my peers.

My father, always quick with the pithy sayings once told me, “Son you can always fix your issues. You’re a smart kid. Just be glad of that, because you never can fix stupid!”

I recalled that little memory more than once and would tell myself, “Yeah J, at least your not stupid.”

Then I learned it wasn’t true, at least not in God’s eyes. His standards had nothing to do with how well I played baseball or soccer, the fact I only fit into “husky” jeans, played the flute in fourth grade,  could diagram sentences or believed firmly in UFOS. His standards for considering me wise had everything to do with my level of true righteousness and even by the time I was twelve I knew I couldn’t claim anything close to the perfection He required. I came to a point where with the Psalmist I realized my sin made me a stupid fool. In fact the Bible said everyone in the whole world was in the same boat with me.

Thankfully, the Bible doesn’t end leaving us “stupid”. The story starts with the naked truth,

^“2 The Lord looks down from heaven
    on the entire human race;
he looks to see if anyone is truly wise,
    if anyone seeks God.
³ But no, all have turned away;
    all have become corrupt.^[a]
No one does good,
    not a single one!”

It continues on with God coming to help stupid people like me.

Now, you can say, ” Oh PJ don’t call yourself stupid.”

I know in our culture foolish sounds a little better than stupid, but folks, it really amounts to the same thing. We are a race that has a capacity to touch Heaven and yet, even when we are told this, our genetic predisposition is to deny that fact and to continue in sin on the broad way to an eternity of torment. If that ain’t stupid I don’t know what is.

But I digress. God helped us by sending His son Jesus to die on a cross and then by breaking the power of death as He raised that same Jesus from the dead.

I cannot claim to have the wisdom that kept me from ever sinning. But I can claim the wisdom that embraced the only plan God ever gave for saving myself. I have discovered, His grace is enough!

Y’know I never did become the cool kid with all my peers. Accepting Jesus didn’t make me “Awesome” in their eyes. But being smart enough to realize I couldn’t fix my own problems… smart enough to realize I needed Jesus, well that has made me accepted by God and I have gotta tell you that is a pretty amazing feeling.

Pray with me:

Lord I realize that my sin has made me a fool in your eyes. I confess I have lacked wisdom. I confess without your help I cannot follow the ways of wisdom or righteousness. Jesus please forgive me for every time I have failed. Forgive me and help me to change. I don’t know how to change myself. I lack the knowledge. I lack the wisdom but I know you have it for me. Help me God. My life is yours. Thank you for coming to my rescue.

Amen.