As a kid, I found it puzzling that we were taught the importance of calling no one “a fool”. Sure, we knew that name-calling was wrong. And, we knew “cuss words”.

But, “fool” seemed pretty mild compared to other names we might call someone. So strange that the word, “fool”, had such importance.

As it turns out, Reverend King noted the significance of this term, fool, also.

He also wondered why Jesus called a man a fool–despite instructing otherwise.

August 27, 1967, was a special day for several reasons. Dr. King delivered a powerful lesson at Mount Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago, Illinois, answering one of my many questions:

Jesus called this man a fool because he allowed the means by which he lived to outdistance the ends for which he lived.…
There are a lot of fools around. Because they fail to realize their dependence on others.

Fortunately, someone saved an audio copy of this powerful sermon: https://youtu.be/xo-6BNtq5RY

Akhalbey, F. (2019, August 27). Read MLK’s Powerful “Why Jesus Called a Man a Fool” Sermon He Delivered on this Day in 1967. Face2Face Africa. https://face2faceafrica.com/article/read-mlks-powerful-why-jesus-called-a-man-a-fool-sermon-he-delivered-on-this-day-in-1967