Raising Kids in the Age of Foolishness

There are enough fools in the world!

Raising Kids in the Age of Foolishness: The Autopsy of a Fool

There are four Hebrew words translated “fool” in Proverbs. Each one carries a nuance of what a fool is and how a fool thinks. If we were able to autopsy a fool, we would find out what killed him. It will not be a pretty sight. You might not be up to entering the coroner’s examination room. The fool is laid out on the table, the saws and knives are ready, and it’s time to open him up.

The four words are kesil, ewl, nabal, and peti. Each one carries its own pathology. If a parent is going to be effective in raising wise children, then it is imperative that they understand the diseases they are insulating their children from. Polio, for example, is a debilitating disease that leaves its victims crippled and in pain. Our dear Miss Smith, choral director and English teacher in high school, gave me a picture of what happens when you don’t take the vaccine for polio. I could see the disease on the outside, but I did not know what it looked like on the inside. That’s why we need an autopsy.

Here is the gist of what we find when we carefully understand these four terms for fool. First, you will find moral insensitivity. This insensitivity is much like someone who lacks empathy or someone who blocks moral imperatives. The rules have no effect on them. Second, you will find arrogance. This pride leads to a feeling of moral superiority or a sense that they don’t need conventional rules. They think they are above them. Third, you will find godlessness. The fool does not retain God in their consciousness. They don’t seem to be aware of God’s existence in any significant way. They live as if there is no God, thus there is no accountability. Fourth, you will find someone easily misled. They will fall for narratives or perspectives that become the script for their lives. Attempts to bring them into God’s narrative and perspective results in scoffing and dismissal. Since they are insensitive, arrogant, and godless it is easy to live in their world of deception.

Parents will do well to know the signs and symptoms of these aspects of the “fool disease.” Alarms should go off if you see any one of these aspects of foolishness. The path to full-blown foolishness is not self-corrective. Rarely does a fool become wise without some outside influence or treatment. Parents must teach and model moral sensitivity, humility, God-consciousness, and a truth-narrative. These must be constant and deliberate. Otherwise, it will be your son or daughter on the coroner’s slab one day. THERE ARE ENOUGH FOOLS IN THE WORLD.