Bible Passage: 1 Kings 12

The unintentional consequences of a foolish action may be far greater than one would imagine.

When Rehoboam and the Israelites met that fateful day in Shechem, everyone assumed that Rehoboam would become Israel’s king. The people made a simple and reasonable request of Rehoboam, and seemed to have made the request in a respectful and submissive manner. However, after consulting with his “cronies”, Rehoboam arrogantly rejected the request.

Probably no one imagined what happened after. Rehoboam could have reconciled with the people, if not for his act of foolishness. The brash young king turned a deaf ear to the request of the people, and his shortsightedness resulted in a divided kingdom, and shaped one of the nation’s greatest histories.

A fool is unwise and lack in good sense and judgement. Foolishness is no laughing matter.

Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom, but a man of understanding walketh uprightly.

Proverbs 15:21

The wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the promotion of fools.

Proverbs 3:35

In the book of Matthew, the foolish 5 virgins were so shortsighted that they did not take extra oil with them in their vessels. Similarly for us today, we would be foolish if we do not look or plan ahead and think of the consequences of our actions. This is especially so in our journey of faith. We should not fool ourselves that the end is not yet near, or that we can continue sinning knowing that God will wash us clean of our sins.

So let us continue to pray for our path of salvation. The end is fast approaching, and when God comes to judge us, can we give an account of our actions to Him?

May God fill us with His wisdom, preserve our faiths, and remove our shortsightedness.