Silly people

"For My people are foolish, They have not known Me. They are silly children, And they have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, But to do good they have no knowledge." – Jeremiah 4v22

‘Silly’ is not a word we come across very often in the Scriptures. The more reliable English translations only use it 2-3 times if at all. We all know that the word means today. We often talk about our young children being silly or admonish people with ‘stop being silly’ and get serious. In my mind it means acting without thinking or being so caught up in having fun that we don’t think clearly about the consequences. That is why the word is so often applied to children.

The development of the word ‘silly’ is an interesting one. The website etymonline.com  says that the word developed from "blessed" to "pious," to "innocent" (c.1200), to "harmless," to "pitiable" (late 13c.), to "weak" (c.1300), to "feeble in mind, lacking in reason, foolish" (1570s).’

So what is the silliness among God’s people that He talks about here? ‘They know how to do evil, but they don’t know how to do good.’

Even though this was written to about the nation of Israel it really describes how Christians act at times. We are like those kids who get out of control and forget the importance of what we are doing. With kids things get knocked off and broken who someone ends up crying. With adults we just really can mess things up with our silliness.

I really don’t like the idea that I am a silly Christian. Lord, remind me of my silliness and help to know more how to good and less how to do evil.