To the editor of the Standard Bearer. 

Dear Sir, 

In the Standard Bearer of Nov. 15, 1973 there appeared an article written by brother Mark Hoeksema under the heading, “Two wise men and a fool. ” In this little story, brother Hoeksema illustrates the foolishness of the Jamaicans. He writes about the foolishness of their way of driving their automobiles, also on the general economic situation, and about Jamaica’s political instability all of which is a result of their foolishness. 

I will pass all this by. But I have some criticism on the way the brother writes about the churches in Jamaica. 

He calls them fools. Foolishness as men count it, and foolishness as God counts it. Unhappily, the brother writes, there are not two wise men for every fool. In fact one must search to find a wise man among the fools; but, the brother further writes, we must keep things in perspective for though most seem to be fools, there are some wise men. The students whose training is almost finished have shown wisdom. There are elders who are wise, and there are some people who have shown wisdom. They are a minority, but they do exist. 

Furthermore, the brother writes, against such a background, the decision of the Mission Committee to terminate the labors of the present is certainly justified, and according to the brother, it is wise. 

That is brother Hoeksema’s conclusion. And because of this conclusion we as churches must turn to other mission fields the Lord has opened for us. 

But how can we turn to other mission fields, if we refuse to work among the foolish? Are not all mission fields among the foolish? 

And ought not we confess that we are not better than those foolish Jamaicans? That includes you and me except for God’s grace. That is what the Bible tells us in the light of what we read in I Cor. 1:26-29, “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.” 

Let us, therefore, not be highminded, but fear. 

Your brother in Christ, 

Thys Feenstra