There's a Spider on Your Back!

April 1

Oh, my gosh! There’s a spider crawling on your back! Didn’t fall for this attempted prank, eh? Well, you’d better be on your toes because there will be more of them today—and many will be far more clever than this tired old April Fools’ Day joke!

We do like to think we’re able to see through not only the tricks played on this ‘fun holiday,’ but we want to believe we’re careful enough observers of life and students of character that circumstances and people can’t dupe us into misconceptions that can cause us difficulties.

The Bible has a lot to say about the fool and his actions; none of which is more sobering than the statement in Psalm 14:1, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” This is a frightening place for a person to find himself. Indeed, we’ve all behaved foolishly at times and suffered the consequences of our error, but there is more to this scriptural observation than a mere reaping of the outcome of our temporary idiocy!

The Word of the Lord proclaims that the fool is the man who affirms within his own heart that there is no God. Such a one is a dyed-in-the-wool atheist. Such a man has observed the majesty and wonder of nature, has enjoyed the bounty from God’s hand of provision, has been blessed to receive love and kindness from his fellow man—and still refuses to see the hand of a wonderful God who has created such things for us to enjoy.

If we succumb to this kind of self-deception, we are not as astute as we think we are—no matter how many April Fools’ Day pranks we can see through.