Rockfest Day 14 - The 11th Commandment

Ever have one of those days? One of those days when everything and everyone around you is going haywire? When everyone has lost their mind and they are making you lose yours? Days when, quite frankly, everyone you encounter is playing the part of the fool?

It begins by retrieving your newspaper out from under the bushes because the paperboy missed the driveway, again. Then the guy at the coffee shop didn’t put the lid on the coffee tightly and it spilled on you during your drive to work. Speaking of the drive, is it you or is everyone driving like a crazy person today cutting you off and stopping suddenly?

Work offers no safe haven, your computer keeps crashing. Despite what he says are his best efforts the IT guy can’t figure out the problem. Your lunch order is completely wrong and now you’re late for your meeting. Given the morning you’ve had, you have no optimism for this meeting going well, and it doesn’t. No one is prepared and no one agrees on anything; a second meeting will be now required.

You leave work early to meet the A/C repairman, who promises to be there between 2 and 5. At 7 you’ve given up all hope. The day has just about worn you completely down and all you want is a little peace when your teenage neighbor suddenly fires up his garage band for a little practice. As you sink lower into your couch turning up the TV volume with the remote control, one recurring thought keeps running through your mind – Where did all these fools come from and why am I a magnet for them??

Its days like this when you look Heavenward for a little guidance. So you do a mental check of God's handy dandy List of helpful tips to live by and realize you’re not even safe there. #3 was violated early on in the process (thou shalt not take the Lord’s name in vain), while you didn’t technically break #6, you really really wanted to several times (thou shalt not commit murder) and #10 is in serious trouble (thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house) because while you don’t covet at this moment you do want to take control of it and shut off the racket emitting from its garage, which also may lead to breaking #6.

The 10 commandments really are of no use to you here. There is not a one of them that you could have said to one of the people during your day to help them, and you, out. What you need is an 11th commandment. Something easy to understand. Something that can be easily taught to others when they need a quick education. Something short, simple and to the point. One you could use all day long to espouse wisdom and at the same time vent your frustration. Sort of a dual purpose commandment.

Scripture tells you that God uses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise and He uses things that are weak to confound the mighty. (1 Cor. 1:27) This is good news – you’re completely confounded so you must be wise and mighty. You’re getting close to #11 but it still does not stop the fools from fouling up your day. Then you realize that perhaps #11 already exists.

The Ephesians were having trouble with fools themselves. They didn’t know what to do. Paul wrote to them and told them not to take up with them, don’t get sucked with the fools. He told them to make sure they “walk carefully in all situations not as fools but as wise.” (Eph. 5:15).

So there it is in black and white - #11 – Thou shalt not be a fool.

You feel so much better. This is going to come in very handy. You’re thinking about printing it on easy to hand out business cards and bumper stickers. You get up to go to bed, so pleased with your new found weapon against the fools of the world, and you put your foot into your half-eaten bowl of ice cream you placed on the floor next to the couch.  You can only smile and shake your head.  Yes, #11 is going to come in very handy indeed.

Let the confounding begin.

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