April Fool's Day 2004 - Canceled Due to Leap Year

by Rock Church | April 1, 2004

It's a shame that April Fool's Day is canceled this year. Usually, this very insignificant day is filled with jokes and pranks played on teachers, friends and family, or anyone we want to embarrass... or fight.

Interestingly enough, however, is how often the word "fool" is used by God throughout the Bible. It is no accident that the word is used over 50 times, not to mention the numerous uses of fools, foolishness, fool's and foolish. Many scriptures encourage us to keep the Word of God on our hearts, lest we end up like the fool of Luke 12.

Jesus tells a parable of a man who made riches and the things of this world his top priority above anything else. This man was not only unthankful for his blessings, but planned his life around his wealth and physical pleasures. God said to him in Luke 12:20, You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you.

No one knows when they will take their last breath, so be sure in your own life to be wise and not foolish, making God the number one priority in everything you do.

Goofus and Gallant

Don't be a Goofus
Don't be a Goofus

For those of us lucky enough to have experienced the joy of "Highlights" magazine throughout childhood, you are familiar with these two completely contradicting characters. For in the time of dread, whether in the doctor's office, the dentist office, or the "kids say the darndest things" office, you could always count on learning a valuable morality lesson from this magazine while nervously awaiting the scalpel.

For those that don't know (or haven't guessed by the name), Gallant is the upstanding pre-pubescent citizen that always behaves properly and has yet to make a mistake after all these years. Goofus, on the other hand, is the fool that always seems to get himself into trouble by misbehaving and has yet to change his devious ways.

Not to oversimplify, but the best way to avoid becoming like Goofus is to pray and obey God's Word. This way you will learn how to avoid the mistakes common to "fools," and can draw upon God's strength in order to do so. Trying on your own and looking for the approval of man is just about the worst thing a person can do.

A good example of trying on our own as is common to man is in a favorite episode of "Perfect Strangers." Just as cousin Larry learned the hard way by trying to impress a girl and pretending to be a jock at the local fitness center, Balki was the one who was true to himself and got the girl in the end. If only TGIF had the great programming like it used to...

Fools 101

Also known as "All Fools Day," there are many different theories on how this April Fool's tradition began. One of the more common beliefs is that it began when the calendar New Year was being changed to January 1st. Since the previous "New Years" celebration was at the end of March and celebrated for days, a minority of the population still believed the New Year was on the first day of April an entire year after the change had been made.

Since news in those days was sent by messengers and word of mouth, this left many in the dark of the change. This in turn led those who were "in the know" of the Non-New Year celebration to pull pranks on the unsuspecting.

Some common pranks of today include chalk in erasers at school, pointing down and telling someone their shoe is untied, and there is always the classic setting an unsuspecting roommate's alarm clock one hour ahead so they wake up to the thought of being an hour late. Of course we here at the Rock can't encourage this type of behavior and this article is for educational purposes only.

"I Pity the Fool!"

Mr. T says \
Mr. T says "Minimize pain. Don't be a fool."

This phrase coined by Mr. T definitely echoes what the Bible has said for thousands of years. The only thing worse than being a fool in front of people is being a fool in front of God. Though the Bible condemns fools, God will also show mercy to those who repent of their foolishness.

There is nothing wrong (at the appropriate time, mind you) to play a joke, or act silly, but that is not to be confused with being the kind of fool that the Bible speaks of. Webster's defines a fool as "one who is deficient in judgment, sense, or understanding." Jesus went a step further and used this term for those lacking in morality and a knowledge of the Lord.

So remember, to keep yourself from being a fool, seek God's Word and a deeper relationship with Him. Remember also that we will not be changing our clocks at Daylight Savings Time this season due to the Leap Year.

... just kidding

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