Why April Fools’ Day Might Be More Spiritual Than You Think

People I know seem to fall into one of two different camps. They either love April Fools’ Day or hate it.

I’m the youngest of five kids and, therefore, the easiest target for all my siblings to prank, so you can probably guess which group I belong to. (I’m sure my eldest sister would have a different opinion since she loved telling me that Pegasus was in our front yard and watching me run to the window for more years than I can remember.) But knowing I had a blog post scheduled for this day, I did some research.

Due to changes in our calendar, the origin of April Fools’ Day is somewhat unclear, according to Wikipedia. The first references are believed to date back to the 1500s or 1600s, although some argue that Chaucer mentioned it in 1392. Even the spelling is questionable—it can be written as April Fool’s Day or April Fools’ Day, with the apostrophe indicating whether the day refers to one fool or multiple fools.

Historically, a common prank is to send someone on a “fool’s errand,” such as asking them to deliver a note and wait for further instructions. The note simply asks the recipient to pass it along to someone else, causing the poor “fool” to go from person to person and place to place until someone finally shouts, “April Fool!” freeing the wanderer of his task. What I find interesting about this prank is that it supposedly commemorates Noah sending the dove out to find land when everything was still flooded.

While I don’t believe the Bible would describe Noah or even the small dove as a fool, it does speak a lot about foolishness and its opposite, wisdom. I recently finished a study of the Book of Proverbs called The Way of Wisdom by Jen Wilkin, Ruth Chou Simons, Kelly Minter, Adrienne Camp, Elizabeth Woodson, and Courtney Doctor, and I highly recommend it. (Spoiler alert: Chapter 31 is not an impossible checklist for all wives but a personification of wisdom itself.)

I’d read Proverbs before and remembered the depiction of foolishness as a harlot out in the streets, enticing the naive with glitz and glamour. (see Chapter 7) But somehow, I’d forgotten that wisdom is also calling out. “Wisdom shouts in the street, she lifts her voice in the square; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings. ‘Turn to my reproof, behold I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.’” (Proverbs 1:20-21,23)

Somehow, I’d been under the impression that godly wisdom was elusive and very hard to come by. That it was reserved for preachers with booming voices or the very oldest among us.  But God is so much more gracious than that!  James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” Did you catch any and all there? We see Solomon do exactly this when he was overwhelmed at the prospect of filling his father, David’s, shoes as king, and we see how generously God answered. (I Kings 3: 5-15)

It might be a little scary to ask for wisdom. Perhaps, we think that, like the stereotypical prayer for patience, the answer will come via the school of hard knocks. And it might. God does allow hard things in our lives to teach us valuable lessons, but He’s not a bully who pulls April Fools’ jokes on His children for His own entertainment.  Flipping back to the book of James, I see a very practical wisdom developed by reading the Word and then intently looking in the mirror; by putting our faith into practice.  Easier said than done, this wisdom may look like foolishness to those around you. Paul tells us that “the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us how are being saved, it is the power of God”. (I Cor. 1:18)  So please be kindhearted when you play your April Fool’s jokes. Think of how foolish Noah looked to his neighbors as he obediently built the ark following God’s wise plan when you send someone on a fool’s errand.

“The foolishness of God is wiser than men.” I Cor. 1:25