Clowns, Mimes, and Fools.

I don’t like clowns.

There is an actual term for the “fear of clowns,” it’s called “coulrophobia.”

I’m not afraid of clowns, per se, but I still don’t like them.

I came by my dislike of clowns at an early age.

I don’t remember a particularly traumatic incident with a rogue clown at the circus, but I remember not liking them even when I was very young.

Second to my dislike of clowns is my dislike of mimes.

If you are a clown then please understand that I have nothing personally against you, I just distrust anyone who wears shoes as big as yours with a red nose and rainbow-colored suspenders.

Mimes, please understand that it isn’t personal, I just fundamentally distrust anyone who dresses like a clown and acts like a clown but has nothing to say for themselves.

One of the things I don’t like about clowns or mimes is that they both act like fools, one says and does foolish things intentionally, the other acts like a fool silently.  To their credit, it’s just an act, and the more we see them as fools, the better they are at clowning or miming, as the case may be.

Enough about my quirks.

The Bible says,

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good.  God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.  They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.  Have those who work evil no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon God? (Psalm 53:1-4 ESV)

God’s dislike of foolishness must be much greater than my dislike of clownery.  Clowns act like buffoons on purpose; fools come by their foolishness naturally.  In other words, the fool isn’t acting.

At the very core of a fool’s foolishness is his or her refusal to acknowledge the biblical source of wisdom.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7 ESV)

That’s the definition, biblically, of a fool.

Let’s be clear, fools, biblically speaking, can be intelligent people.  They can be consummate professionals, scholars, and leaders.  They can be both famous and successful.  They can have charm and charisma.  Yet for all that they have going for them, the downfall of the fool is that they say in their hearts, “there is no God.”

What’s more troubling is that Psalm 53 suggests very strongly that we have all been, at some time in our lives, the fool.

We have all fallen away and we have all become corrupt. 

Paul uses this very passage to convict the world of sin.

as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;  no one understands; no one seeks for God.  All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” (Romans 3:10-12 ESV)

That is certainly true of me.  As an atheist, I looked relatively normal, did relatively well in university studies, was reasonably adept at my job, and enjoyed a moderate intellectual capacity.

But I was still a fool.

The way a clown stops clowning around is, first, to take off the clown suit.

The way a mime stops being a mime is to take off the clown suit and say something (preferable, something worth saying).

The way a fool stops being a fool is to take off the fool suit and clothe themselves with Christ.

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (Romans 13:14 ESV)

Once we have asked God to save us from our foolishness, we can stop acting the fool, and we can speak words that bring glory to God.

It doesn’t make any sense for a clown to take off the clown costume and keep clowning around.  It doesn’t make any sense for a former mime to refuse to speak.

And it doesn’t make any sense for a Christian to act like a fool.  Once we have put off our foolishness and clothed ourselves with Christ, then we can act and speak as those who know there is a God and use our voices to give Christ the glory due to Him.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock, and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14 ESV)

Keep safe, be well, and stay encouraged.

Brian