Posted by Randy Warwick on 1 April 2011 | 1 Comments

Tags: c12, cincinnati, group, april, fool, nabal, randy, warwick, business,

In 1 Samuel 25, we are introduced to a person by the name of Nabal. We are
told that he had a business and he was very rich. Also, we are told he had a
smart, beautiful and godly wife.  Unfortunately, these blessings were not
enough to bring satisfaction to him for he is described as someone who was
very harsh and evil in his doings.  His wife even called him a scoundrel
(literally son of belial) .  It is no surprise that his name, Nabal, meant
FOOL!

So what made Nabal so foolish? He had fallen prey to the same deception that
caused the devil to fall from heaven. He thought he was a self-made man.
When asked to share his resources with King David's men who had protected
his employees , his response was " shall I then take MY bread and MY water
and MY meat and give it to men?".  Nabal's response to David reminds me of
the Rich fool's attitude that Jesus described in Luke 12. Not only that,
Nabal's  ultimate demise  ( 1 Sam. 26:36-38) is also a picture of what Jesus
said " Fool, this night your soul will be required of you; then whose will
those things be with you have provided?" Interestingly enough, David even
got his wife!!

So how can we keep from being so foolish? Just a few days ago, my pastor
said that when God is at work in our lives, we will see a gratitude toward
God and a generosity toward others.  How grateful are you to the Lord for
the business He has given you? Do you find yourself thanking Him daily for
the privilege to steward His resources? Speaking of resources, how generous
are you when God does bless the business? Our answers to these questions
will give us a hint toward how foolish we may be. However, if you still
aren't sure, may I suggest that you ask your spouse and/or your employees?
Hopefully, they won't say, like Nabal, that you have been a real Son of
Belial!! I will leave you with the words of the late missionary, Jim Elliot,
who was martyred in his attempt to reach the Auca indians " He is no fool
who gives that which he cannot keep, in order to gain that which he cannot
lose"