Everybody Plays The Fool

... there's no exception to the rule.

It may be factual, may be cruel ...

but everybody plays the fool.

Today, April 1, is April Fools' Day in the USA, a day for tricks, gags, ribs, and other assorted hijinks. Be wary of any e-mail, text message, phone call, or other type of communication from any American today which seems a bit bizarre or off-beat (except, of course, for this blog post). They're probably pulling your leg today.

Here in Peru, though, it's just April 1, the day after March 31 and the day before April 2. There's no April Fools' Day in Peru today, although they do have the same thing every year on December 28, which Peruvians call "El Dia De Los Inocentes" or, literally translated, "Innocents' Day." As in, "I'm going to play a trick on you today, and you're so innocent and gullible and naive that you'll probably fall for it!"

Paul talks about fools and foolishness in 1 Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians 1:25, he writes, "For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom ...." In 1 Corinthians 4:10, Paul adds, "We are fools for Christ ...."

The song sung by The Main Ingredient and by Aaron Neville, "Everybody Plays The Fool", is about being a fool for love, but a lot of the lyrics would seem to apply to ministry as well. Due to bad decisions or serious missteps, we've all played the fool. There's no exception to the rule. They never tell you so in school. It may be factual, may be cruel. But everybody plays the fool.

Don't let your past foolishness, however, keep you from accomplishing your vision or your dream in international ministry. Get up, dust yourself off, and get back on track. It may be April 1 and April Fools' Day today, but April 2, and the rest of your life and your ministry, is just a day away.