I Feel Foolish

Most of us have a fear of looking foolish. In poll after poll, the number one fear of Americans is the fear of public speaking. It ranks higher than the fear of death and the fear of spiders. You know what that means? We would rather die of a spider bite than have to speak publicly!!! Why? I think it is the fear of looking foolish, of being embarrassed. It has been called the curse of self-consciousness.

We are going to be exploring that this week. It is the fear of looking foolish that kept us from raising our hand in elementary school to answer a question by the teacher. What if we are wrong? It is the fear of looking foolish that kept us from asking a girl out on a date as a teenager. What if she said "no", or worse yet laughed at or made of us? It is the fear of looking foolish that keeps us from praying for amazing miracles. What if it doesn't happen? We will look foolish.

And I think it is the fear of looking foolish that keeps us from worshiping God the way we could or even should. I love the way that Mark Batterson talks about it in his book, The Circle Maker. The whole acceptance of faith involves the willingness to look foolish.  Noah looked foolish building an ark in the dessert. Sarah looked foolish buying maternity clothes at ninety. The Israelites looked foolish marching around Jericho blowing trumpets. David looked foolish attacking Goliath with a slingshot. The Wise Men looked foolish following yonder star. Peter looked foolish stepping out of the boat in the middle of the lake in the middle of the night. And Jesus looked foolish hanging half-naked on the cross.

But that’s faith. Faith is the willingness to look foolish.

And the results speak for themselves don’t they? Noah was saved from the flood. Sarah gave birth to Isaac. The walls of Jericho came tumbling down. David defeated Goliath. The Wise Men found the Messiah. Peter walked on water. And Jesus rose from the dead.

Most of us will never kill a giant or walk on water because we are not willing to look foolish. We’re not willing to attach with a slingshot or get out of the boat in the middle of the lake. This week, we are going to be looking at a time in King David's life when he looked foolish in the eyes of his wife...and even in his own eyes. But he realized that the worship that God deserved at the time was not for His personal comfort but for God's glory. I hope you will join me each day as we explore 2 Samuel 6.