“Fella, you’re crazy!” Jerry Clower, a long dead country comedian, told a story about how his good friend Marcel Ledbetter (a made up character for his jokes) got a recruiter to declare that and keep him out of the military. Marcel was a young man and didn’t want to leave home so he walked into the recruiter’s office and started boasting about all the things he wanted to do. He didn’t want any training and was ready to swim the oceans, climb the mountains and fight the enemy bare handed. When the recruiter responded with “Fella, you’re crazy”, Marcel calmly said: “Write that down.”

Jerry Clower may have been inspired by an incident involving God’s chosen King of Israel, David, that occurred while he was fleeing from Saul. After having to beg for food and eat holy bread from the Tabernacle he decided his only escape was to flee to the Philistines. But, as we would imagine, his reception was less than friendly. They knew who he was and what he had done. They even quoted the song that had driven Saul insane: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands” (1 Samuel 21:10-11).

David heard their comments and in a desperate bid for survival pretended insanity. “David took these words to heart and greatly feared Achish king of Gath. So he disguised his sanity while in their sight and acted insanely in their custody, and he scribbled on the doors of the gate, and drooled on his beard. (1 Samuel 21:12-13)

Apparently David was a good actor because he pulled off his pretense and convinced the people and King of Gath that he was out of his mind. He was so convincing the King asked his advisors why they brought David to him. He didn’t need another madman cluttering his palace (1 Samuel 21:14-15). David took the hint and quickly escaped.

The point for us on today’s Morning Minutes in the Bible is simple. What insanity do we pretend in our desperate attempt to escape God? Do we pretend that He can’t see our sin? Do we pretend our sin isn’t really that bad? Do we pretend our sin isn’t really sin at all? We may fool ourselves, we may fool the people of this world, we may even fool others who genuinely serve Him, but we can’t fool the eternal God. He sees through it all so let’s cut out the insanity and repent. God’s relentless pursuit is to save us from our insanity so let’s stop running away and return to the Lord.

Let me know if I can help you return to God. Reach out to me by email or message for further study.