Are you a fool?

Would you consider yourself a fool? I'm pretty sure that most of us wouldn't call ourselves fools or like it if someone called us a fool. Here's how a fool is defined by dictionary.com; a silly or stupid person; a person who lacks judgment or sense. After reading that I was like there's no way I was a fool. But then as I read Proverbs 26 today my answer changed. In verse 11 it says: As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly. I know that's a gross picture but I believe that illustration really brings it home. I think how stupid a dog must be to return to what he just threw up, but are we really any different? If you were honest with yourself wouldn't you say that you've return to things that you know are wrong, things that God has asked us to stay away from? I don't believe that all those things that we would return to are all sinful things. It could be a certain person you like, a job you're in, or maybe even family. We so many times return to the sinful things that our flesh desire but we also keep going back to things that bring us pain/heart break. I'll be honest with you, I've been a fool lately. 
I didn't blog today with the intention of calling people fools today but this really spoke to me today. Now instead of recognizing if we have been fools lately and either getting mad or bummed if you have been, God also gave me a sense of encouragement. Read 2 Corinthians 5:17. If you are like me and realize that you've been a fool lately there's hope for us. We don't have to be like this forever. That's what I love about the Bible, we have God's living and breathing word that shines a light on the areas of our lives that we need help in and it always speaks to us the way we need. I don't believe God was telling me that "Gabe you're a fool and I'm mad at you"! I believe it was more like "Gabe you're acting a little foolish right now, how about you let me help you get out of this funk you're going through and let's get back to living life to the fullest". I don't think that was just an ecouragement for me, it's for anyone who feels like they are just terrible because of the choices they've made and that there's no hope in store for them. Jesus died for all of us and because of that we can have forgiveness and we can have a relationship with God, no matter what we've done.
So my prayer for us today is that God would shine his light on the areas in our lives that we've been acting like fools. I pray that God would give us the discernment and strength to help us in this area of our lives. I pray for faith and stregth for us to let God be God.