Maybe it’s just me, but I find the growing number of TV commercials for new drugs to be almost astonishing. I mention that because watching the parade of revolutionary new drug and food supplement products suggests that these products can prevent, alleviate, or cure virtually everything that threatens our well-being. It reminds me of a condition that “Big Pharma” and the supplement producers can’t address. Though God has been warning us about this condition for thousands of years, we rarely talk about it and tend not to take it very seriously. It’s a familiar disorder and all of us have seen its symptoms at work in others more times than we can count. And if we’re honest, we’ve almost certainly experienced episodes of it at times ourselves. 

No Acronym this Time ~
Unlike our medical professionals, when God chose a name for this dangerous and potentially disastrous condition, He didn’t include a catchy acronym for it. He simply dubbed it foolishness and referred to those afflicted with it as fools. And to enable His people to protect themselves against the threat this condition poses, God devised a powerfully protective spiritual prophylactic . . . He calls it wisdom. And to reveal both the problem and the solution more clearly, God gave Solomon a perspective that allowed him to see both responses with unprecedented clarity. After seeing both at work in the real world, he delivered this concluding admonition:

Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. (Proverbs 4:7 NKJV)

My concern is that we tend to take foolishness lightly and don’t recognize the danger it represents. We see it blatantly displayed every day in one way or another. It permeates the campuses in thousands of colleges and universities across the nation, and, unfortunately, the seeds of foolish ideas are being planted in the minds of our children in elementary and high schools, as well. Foolishness is not a sociological, academic, racial, ethnic, or political problem. It is a spiritual problem. Foolishness isn’t a medical issue, but it does have symptoms. The primary one is an altered mental state that directly impacts rational thought. 

Extensive Impact ~
God makes it clear that the fool’s moral perception is altered, which also affects relational interactions, emotional responses, and social consciousness. The fool’s compulsive pattern of denying reality, redefining terms, and ignoring previous outcomes corrupts his or her ability to solve problems. Fools also share an aversion to truth that blinds them to dangers and to the consequences that their foolish choices will bring.  Foolishness isn’t an airborne virus or something picked up by casual contact. It’s transmitted to unsuspecting people brought under its influence through exposure to seductive and deceptive manipulations of truth. Trusted friends, teachers, or public figures lead them to deny God’s authority and ultimately, even His very existence. God described the origin of foolishness in the simplest of terms when He said:

The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God…” (Psalm 53:1)

Fools and foolishness are mentioned at least 110 times in the Word of God, making it hardly a minor, insignificant issue. So that we might recognize it and avoid its influence, Solomon gave us many examples of the characteristics of foolishness. Here are just a few:

• • Fools reject the recognition and acceptance of reality and treat corrective direction as things to be despised and rejected: 

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7 NKJV)

• • Fools take great delight in making mockery of values and traditions that promote unity, prosperity, socio-economic stability, relational harmony and personal wellbeing. 

How long, you simple (naïve) ones, will you love simplicity (naïveté)? For scorners delight in their scorning, And fools hate knowledge.” (Proverbs 1:22 NKJV)

• • Fools tend to be angry, aggressive, and arrogantly confident. They ignore obvious dangers and consider their opinions as superior to all others, regardless of evidence to the contrary.  

A wise man fears and departs from evil, But a fool rages and is self-confident. (Proverbs 14:16 NKJV)

• • Because fools deny God and/or reject His authority, truth has no definition beyond whatever they declare it to be. Thus, lies and deception form the foundational basis of every policy they advocate and every practice they engage in. 

The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way, But the folly of fools is deceit. [Here the Hebrew word for deceit actually means changing the weights on scales to deceive and defraud. (Proverbs 14:8 NKJV)] 

• • The fool finds no joy in things that are morally good, uplifting, and positive, angrily rejecting anything pleasing to God. The only joy available to fools is found in devising and promoting grotesque perversions of God’s designs and in mocking and ridiculing the people and policies they hate. 

Folly is joy to him who is destitute of discernment, But a man of understanding walks uprightly. (Proverbs 15:21 NKJV)

• • Both the wise and the foolish will have a day of rewards and reckoning, but both leave something in their wake. The wise will inherit glory and leave a legacy worthy of celebration. But the fool’s shameful legacy of arrogance and shameful depravity will disintegrate into eternal misery and endless regrets. 

The wise shall inherit glory, But shame shall be the legacy of fools. (Proverbs 3:35 NKJV)

Time to Make a Choice ~
I’m highlighting these contrasts between foolishness and wisdom not only because God did, but because we’re preparing now to select another group of men and women to serve as leaders of our country. Elections are always times when foolishness of one kind or another is on parade, and we should always approach those times armed with as much wisdom as possible. But Election Day isn’t the only time, and the ballot box isn’t the only place where we should display our opposition to foolish ideas and morally corrupt proposals. Jesus didn’t send us into the world to represent His Kingdom once every few years, or even once a week.

There’s a famine of wisdom in our land, and our people are feeding on the toxic junk food of foolishness. Our mission is to freely share the wisdom that God has given us to everyone we meet in whatever circumstance we encounter. He didn’t send pharmaceuticals, supplements, or politicians to protect His people against the poisonous insanity that threatens them. He sent people like you and me, and He has equipped us with all we need.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him (James 1:5 NKJV)

Foolishness is a malignancy that will destroy every value and revoke every freedom our nation has enjoyed for 250 years. We must not approve it, support it, turn a blind eye to it, or be silent about the danger it represents. But neither must we limit our efforts to combat its influence to election cycles alone. While foolishness may be contagious, applying the wisdom God has given us, and living our lives in accordance with the truth that Jesus personified, are also contagious. In light of that, Solomon was incredibly encouraging when he said:

The lips of the righteous feed many, But fools die for lack of wisdom. (Proverbs 10:21 NKJV)

The wisdom we’re equipped by God to share ‘feeds’ many, and the corollary promise is that when others hear truth and turn from their foolishness, a life has been saved, not only in eternity, but here and now. What a grand opportunity awaits us! So, when election day arrives, let’s not only cast our ballots, let’s arm ourselves with the one weapon that can overcome foolishness, feed hungry souls, and save lives. The blessings will flow and God’s Kingdom will grow, no matter who gets elected.  

“TWEETABLES” ~ Click to tweet and share from the pull quotes below.  Each one links directly back to this article through Twitter . . .

• • Because fools deny God and/or reject His authority, truth has no definition beyond whatever they declare it to be. Thus, lies and deception form the foundational basis of every policy they advocate and every practice they engage in. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
  • Foolishness is transmitted to unsuspecting people brought under its influence through exposure to seductive, deceptive manipulations of truth. Trusted friends, teachers, public figures lead them to deny God’s authority and ultimately, His very existence. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
  • Foolishness is a malignancy that will destroy every value and revoke every freedom our nation has enjoyed for 250 years. We must not approve it, support it, turn a blind eye to it, or be silent about the danger it represents. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet) 
  • We mustn’t approve foolishness, turn a blind eye to it or be silent about dangers it represents. Foolishness may be contagious, but applying the wisdom God gave us to live our lives in accord with the truth that Jesus personified, is contagious too. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet) 
  • The wisdom we’re equipped by God to share “feeds” many, and the corollary promise is that when others hear truth and turn from their foolishness, a life has been saved, not only in eternity, but here and now. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet) 

Check out Ron’s book, “Right Side Up Thinking in an Upside Down World ~ Looking at the World through the Lens of Biblical Truth” 

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© 2026 Gallagher’s Pen, Ronald L. Gallagher, Ed.S.  All rights reserved.