Today is the day of practical jokes and epic spoofs—it’s April Fool’s Day. I learned early in life that the spoofer seems to get more joy out of this day than does the spoofed.
While under the influence of an older sister, poor little innocent me was persuaded to put salt in the sugar bowl and sugar in the salt shaker.
I snickered when I saw Mom slice a grapefruit in half, get a spoonful of salt out of the sugar bowl, and spread it on her grapefruit. I laughed out loud when she took the first bite and quickly spit it back out.
Mom didn’t see the humor, and my laughter had implicated me as a guilty partner in this devious plan that was hatched in the mind of my older sister. Shame on her for being such a poor influence on poor little innocent me.
The public has been duped on this day on more than one occasion:
- On April 1, 1996, Virgin Cola issued a warning to consumers in the British newspapers. They announced that on the sell-by-date, a new technology would cause a reaction that would turn the can blue. This spoof was a slap at Pepsi who had recently unveiled its newly designed bright blue cans.
- Also on April 1, 1996, Taco Bell ran a full-page ad in six major newspapers to announce it had purchased the Liberty Bell and renamed it the Taco Liberty Bell. This spoof outraged patriotic citizens across the USA, and many of them called the National Historic Park in Philadelphia to express their anger. Nerves were calmed after Taco Bell revealed it was just a practical joke
- On April 1, 1987, the Daily Mirror broke the startling news of a romance between Margaret Thatcher and Mikhail Gorbachev. To support the fabricated story, the newspaper had hired models that looked like Thatcher and Gorbachev.
God may have a sense of humor, but He doesn’t think the life of a fool is a laughing matter. Since this is April Fool’s Day, I thought I would post a verse or two about fools from God’s perspective:
- Psalm 14:1: The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
- Proverbs 1:7: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of much learning. Fools hate wisdom and teaching.
- Proverbs 13:20: He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the one who walks with fools will be destroyed.
- Proverbs 14:16: A wise man fears God and turns away from what is sinful, but a fool is full of pride and is not careful.
I think this last verse is a fitting conclusion: He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be kept safe (Proverbs 28:26).
Today is the only way a person can make some sense out of 
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