This is the continuation of a series begun by guest writer, Lucas Ward, in January. Due to the two month hiatus caused by my broken computer and waiting for the part in the midst of a worldwide shutdown, you might wish to familiarize yourself with the earlier posts. If so, just go to the right sidebar and click on the appropriate month. The earlier posts appeared on January 15, February 17 and March 16.
It seems to me that a logical first step on the road to learning to be wise is to remove the foolishness from our lives. So I have collected quite a bit of what Proverbs teaches about "the fool" so that we can learn what to remove from our lives and what to avoid in the future.
The Mouth of the Fool.
Prov. 10:8 "The wise of heart will receive commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin."
Prov. 10:14 "The wise lay up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near."
The foolish person talks incessantly. He never learns anything because he won't shut up long enough to listen. The wise person, on the other hand, receives, or listens to, commandments. He lays up knowledge. The fool who babbles eventually brings ruin because he has no knowledge. Because he would never be quiet.
Prov. 18:2 "A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion."
Have you ever met someone who never listened to what you said but rather just waited for you to finish so he could talk? Solomon says that kind of person is a fool. He never learns because he never listens. He is more interested in what he is about to say.
Prov. 14:3 "By the mouth of a fool comes a rod for his back, but the lips of the wise will preserve them."
Prov. 18:6 "A fool's lips walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating."
Prov. 18:7 "A fool's mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul."
A fool is constantly in trouble because of his foolish mouth. He receives official punishment (a rod for his back from the king) and street justice (walk into a fight). His mouth brings him to ruin because, as a fool he can't control it and doesn't know what to say if he could control it. If we want to avoid foolishness, we must learn to control our mouths (a proverbs lesson on that later).
Flaunting Folly.
Prov. 10:23 "Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool, but wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding."
Prov. 13:16 "Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly."
Prov. 14:16 "One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is reckless and careless."
Prov. 17:12 "Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs rather than a fool in his folly."
The fool refuses to think, and just acts, often with disastrous results. He is reckless and careless and more dangerous than a she-bear separated from her cubs. What's worse? He laughs about the trouble he causes and wears his foolishness like a crown. Obviously, the answer here is to think before we act. To consider how our actions affect others (the definition of being considerate). The prudent acts with knowledge and the wise is cautious, and that should be what we are aiming for.
Refuses Teaching.
Prov. 12:15 "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice."
Prov. 15:5 "A fool despises his father's instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is prudent."
Prov. 17:24 "The discerning sets his face toward wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth."
Prov. 18:2 "A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion."
There are many more passages about the fool's refusal to listen, but since we just discussed the need to listen in the previous lesson, I'm only touching on it here. A wise man becomes wise by listening to instruction and the fool marks himself as a fool by refusing to hear teaching. The fool thinks he is right and refuses advice. He won't listen to his father, he is daydreaming during class and doesn't care to understand. If we don't want to be foolish, we need to listen to the wise and consider their teachings. It is the only way to grow.
Vexation of:
Prov. 12:16 "The vexation of a fool is known at once, but the prudent ignores an insult."
Prov. 20:3 "It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling."
Prov. 27:3 "A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty, but a fool's provocation is heavier than both."
Personally, I hate Proverbs 12:16. It hits a little too close to home. When I am vexed, people know about it. Solomon calls that the mark of a fool. The prudent ignores the insult. The honorable man keeps aloof from strife. This is definitely one of the things I need to work on to become more wise. To know when to ignore the insult, to avoid strife, to let things be. The more we improve ourselves at this, the better are those around us because the fool's provocation is heavier than stones or sand and weighs down everyone near him.
The first step to learning wisdom is to understand Solomon's description of fools and to try to remove that foolishness from our lives. The less we act the fool, the greater our chance at becoming wise.
Lucas Ward
It seems to me that a logical first step on the road to learning to be wise is to remove the foolishness from our lives. So I have collected quite a bit of what Proverbs teaches about "the fool" so that we can learn what to remove from our lives and what to avoid in the future.
The Mouth of the Fool.
Prov. 10:8 "The wise of heart will receive commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin."
Prov. 10:14 "The wise lay up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near."
The foolish person talks incessantly. He never learns anything because he won't shut up long enough to listen. The wise person, on the other hand, receives, or listens to, commandments. He lays up knowledge. The fool who babbles eventually brings ruin because he has no knowledge. Because he would never be quiet.
Prov. 18:2 "A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion."
Have you ever met someone who never listened to what you said but rather just waited for you to finish so he could talk? Solomon says that kind of person is a fool. He never learns because he never listens. He is more interested in what he is about to say.
Prov. 14:3 "By the mouth of a fool comes a rod for his back, but the lips of the wise will preserve them."
Prov. 18:6 "A fool's lips walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating."
Prov. 18:7 "A fool's mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul."
A fool is constantly in trouble because of his foolish mouth. He receives official punishment (a rod for his back from the king) and street justice (walk into a fight). His mouth brings him to ruin because, as a fool he can't control it and doesn't know what to say if he could control it. If we want to avoid foolishness, we must learn to control our mouths (a proverbs lesson on that later).
Flaunting Folly.
Prov. 10:23 "Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool, but wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding."
Prov. 13:16 "Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly."
Prov. 14:16 "One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is reckless and careless."
Prov. 17:12 "Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs rather than a fool in his folly."
The fool refuses to think, and just acts, often with disastrous results. He is reckless and careless and more dangerous than a she-bear separated from her cubs. What's worse? He laughs about the trouble he causes and wears his foolishness like a crown. Obviously, the answer here is to think before we act. To consider how our actions affect others (the definition of being considerate). The prudent acts with knowledge and the wise is cautious, and that should be what we are aiming for.
Refuses Teaching.
Prov. 12:15 "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice."
Prov. 15:5 "A fool despises his father's instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is prudent."
Prov. 17:24 "The discerning sets his face toward wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth."
Prov. 18:2 "A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion."
There are many more passages about the fool's refusal to listen, but since we just discussed the need to listen in the previous lesson, I'm only touching on it here. A wise man becomes wise by listening to instruction and the fool marks himself as a fool by refusing to hear teaching. The fool thinks he is right and refuses advice. He won't listen to his father, he is daydreaming during class and doesn't care to understand. If we don't want to be foolish, we need to listen to the wise and consider their teachings. It is the only way to grow.
Vexation of:
Prov. 12:16 "The vexation of a fool is known at once, but the prudent ignores an insult."
Prov. 20:3 "It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling."
Prov. 27:3 "A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty, but a fool's provocation is heavier than both."
Personally, I hate Proverbs 12:16. It hits a little too close to home. When I am vexed, people know about it. Solomon calls that the mark of a fool. The prudent ignores the insult. The honorable man keeps aloof from strife. This is definitely one of the things I need to work on to become more wise. To know when to ignore the insult, to avoid strife, to let things be. The more we improve ourselves at this, the better are those around us because the fool's provocation is heavier than stones or sand and weighs down everyone near him.
The first step to learning wisdom is to understand Solomon's description of fools and to try to remove that foolishness from our lives. The less we act the fool, the greater our chance at becoming wise.
Lucas Ward
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