Crunching On A Carp Head

“It is better to crunch on the rotten head of a carp, than to spend the day fishing on the lake with a puffed-up, know-it-all.” - Life Proverbs by Tim. What do we call those individuals who arrogantly know-it-all, are not teachable, and vehemently opinionated? Okay, stop it! I know I asked for it, but the Bible does have a name for such individuals – fools. The Bible describes such individuals as corrupt, self-deceived, blindly confident, boasters, slanders, liars, angry, contentious and shunning God’s wisdom. (Ps. 14:1, Pr. 12:15, 14:16, 14:8, 20:3, 10:18, 18:6, 28:26, Ec. 10:12, 7:9, 5:1, 10:14) One proverb states the distorted reality of fools.

A fool finds no pleasure in understanding
But delights in airing his own opinions. – Proverbs 18:2

If you have ever found yourself talking to, working with, or spending any amount of time with a fool you know how distasteful it is, like chomping on the rotten head of a carp. It is the putrid taste of conceit, egotism and haughtiness that triggers your gag reflex. We find fools in all walks of life: from the illiterate to the Ivory Towers of academic elitism, from begging on the streets to those flying in private jets, from those sitting in bars to those sitting in pews, and from all ages 5 to 85.

If you add charisma and talent to a fool what do you get? This combination may produce a politician, an actor, a musician, a professor, a professional athlete, or a CEO. I could have added names to the above, but this week’s news does that for me. Obviously not all in those professions are fools, but fools often succeed, gain attention, notoriety, position, influence, and privilege. Maybe high-achieving success breeds foolishness.

What if you added one more dangerous ingredient to this volatile individual, self-righteousness? Jesus didn’t pull any punches when he described self-righteous fools as “blind guides, whitewashed tombstones, dirty cups, snakes, vipers, hypocrites”, Matt. 23. Unfortunately we still see charismatic, talented, self-righteous fools in the church, usually celebrated on TV, radio or mega-churches. But as we (or I) point fingers at the highly-visible, we can also see this same insidious disease within our local churches, families, friendships, and even within ourselves. OUCH! The reason is we all have this base ingredient to being a fool within us, pride. When pride begins to stir within us it spreads as a small amount of yeast throughout the batch. If left to sit in a favorable climate (self-centeredness) pride puffs-up with hot air, leaving us empty, void and on a path of self-destruction.

The remedy is to seek humility, dependency upon God, have a teachable spirit, exhibit mercy, grace and gratitude, and seek to have the Fruits of the Spirit evident in our lives. So, if you ever find yourself in a row boat, fishing with a buddy and his nose and face scrunches up and he begins to gag, maybe he is sending a message that he would rather be chewing on the rotten head of a carp.