(2 Cor. 11:16-33)

From different points of view, the same information can have dramatically different impacts. For example, a national election can bring results that cause some to feel euphoric and others to feel doomed. In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he talks about their idea of foolishness versus his own understanding. He uses sarcasm quite a bit in these chapters, so if you’re fluent in that language, these passages are easy to relate to. But what he says is that they love to listen to people who are actually fools while calling Paul a fool for his devotion to the cause of the Gospel. Paul’s example is challenging to us all. In order to live anything like he did, we have to grapple with our own ideas of what is wise and foolish and we would have to leave behind what seems wise to this world. Paul’s bragging here is what he labels as foolish, but he needs to help the Corinthians open their eyes to the ways that their ‘spiritual conversations’ with these new leaders have actually dragged them into foolishness. If we can learn from this, it can help us from believing we are being wise while we are actually turning into fools.