LISTEN

READ

I’ve played the jester in courts of the kings
and said in my heart that, “I will be one of these”.
I’ve played the minstrel for hundreds of crowds
with all of my soul singing out loud.
It was laughs all around, laughs all around,
but the jokes on me.
Now I won’t play the fool for them.

I’ve played the lover and I’ve played the fool,
and I said in my mind, “I’d never do that again”.
I’ve played the scholar and I’ve played the artist
and I said in my mind, “I can do anything”.
It was laughs all around, laughs all around
but the jokes on me.
Now I won’t play the fool for them.

Now, I play the servant for the King of all kings,
and can say in my spirit, “I give You everything.”
Now, I play the kinsman to the Lord of all lords,
and can say in my spirit, “I know I’m one of Yours.”
It’s peace all around, peace all around,
and it’s all in You.
Now I play the fool for You.

REFLECT

I was told once, that my songs are written too much from my own perspective.  I am not really sure that is a bad thing.  In fact, I believe there is precedent for it.  Consider the psalms of David; there are moments where David is in deep despair crying out for salvation, even questioning God at times.  However, in the midst of those darker psalms we see David turn to praise.  It is not David’s perfection that made him a man after God’s own heart, but rather it was his broken spirit.[Psalm 51:17]
Ballad of the Fool, to me, portrays that spirit.  It was written in a moment of contrition.  Throughout our lives we are lead astray by our own will.  Too often we place our guilt on the enemy, thinking it is Satan and his minions, but are we not our own enemy?[Romans 7:15-21] Because of this, we are fools with respect to God–fools for the world.[I Corinthians 3:19] Yet, we go about thinking that everything is just fine! "It’s laughs all around."
I am thankful, that God’s grace draws us to a life of faith.  In that, we find that we were fools, slaves to the world.[Galatians 4:3]  Even our most noble works were/are filthy rags.  Even when we are walking according to the flesh, at times we feel foolish, both in the eyes of men and of God.  Without faith we cannot please God, and it seems that even pleasing some people is an impossible task.
Ironically, we make absolute fools of ourselves to gain the acceptance or approval of men, but will not do the same for God.  I do not mean we should act ridiculous for God (which, for some reason, seems to be a popular trend in a lot of church organizations), but rather give up ourselves, everything, for the sake of pleasing God.  If you want to find perfect peace, you must allow God to bring you to the place where you are tired of playing the fool for the world who does not know you, who did not die for you, or recreate your inner being for the purpose of communing with you.  I have made a of fool of myself for the world in so many ways, "and I said in my mind, I’d never do that again".  If you are human, then you can relate, even if you do not want to admit it.
From those experiences came this song, and the courage to play my music on the street corners of downtown Athens.  I don’t care what the world thinks, anymore.  I’d rather be a fool for Christ, than a fool for them.[Romans 6:19]

Ballad of the Fool by Brian Wetzel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.