Do not be overly wicked, nor be foolish: why should you die before your time? - Ecclesiastes 7:17.

Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'" - Matthew 4:7.

A man was killed by a lioness when he climbed down into the lion’s enclosure. A spokesperson for the Kiev zoo said, "The man shouted 'God will save me, if He exists', lowered himself by a rope into the enclosure, took his shoes off and went up to the lions. A lioness went straight for him, knocked him down, and severed his carotid artery." There were a large number of people at the zoo on a Sunday evening when this occurred.

How would you define a fool? Here are some definitions that I found, somebody considered to lack good sense or judgment; a person who acts unwisely; one who lacks good sense, judgment or comprehension, or who fails to display these qualities on a specific occasion; and, to act in an irresponsible or foolish manner. It does appear that the man killed by the lioness at the Kiev zoo was demonstrating many of the characteristics of these definitions. He does appear to have been lacking in good judgment and wisdom. He also appeared to be acting irresponsibly.

According to King Solomon, whom many accord the acclaim of being the wisest man who ever lived, you can die before your time. Meaning some die before the number of their days have been completed because they acted in a foolish way. Because of their foolishness, lack of wisdom, or lack of good judgment they die before they should have died. Climbing down into an enclosure with lions is an act of foolishness. Waving a golf club over your head in a thunderstorm would also be an act of foolishness.

The man who died from the attack of the lioness was not only a fool but he was also involved in something else. What was it? He was tempting God. He was demanding that God prove His existence by protecting him from harm. The man shouted, "God will save me, if He exists." God has continually given mankind evidence that He exists. Creation itself is a witness to the existence of God. Every human being is a visible witness that there is a God. Look up at the sky at night at the countless stars and again you see evidence of the existence of God. To demand that God protect you from harm to prove His existence is an act of tempting God.

When we tempt God, we are not only committing a sin but we are also acting as a fool would act. To some extent every time we sin we are tempting God. We are saying, "I know You don’t want me to do this, but I want to do it so I am going to do it anyway." That is an act of tempting God. It is also evidence that we are fools when we sin. We know better and we know that "the wages of sin is death" but we do it anyway. Foolish isn’t it? Have you been acting like a fool? Have you been tempting God? Stop it!