Proverbs 12:15 gives us a modern art painting still in the making waiting for each of us to finish and frame with our face of joyful pride in our own eyes. Solomon speaks and we sit up and listen, but do we embrace the counsel?
Solomon says in 12:15 in different ways but always the same ‘a fool is a fool’:
NKJ “The ways of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise.
NIV “The way of a fool seems right to him,
but a wise man listens to advice.”
Message “Fools are headstrong and do what they like;
wise people take advice. ”
Let’s try a few more translations and see if it gets any better:
NLT ” Fools think their own way is right,
but the wise listen to others.”
AST “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes; But he that is wise hearkeneth unto counsel.”
Solomon, the author of these active words , like yeast, working in the making of bread was the King of Israel, the son of David and Bathsheba. He took the throne of Israel about the age of 40 and reign for 40 years. Solomon has a reputation with a face of “A Man of Wisdom.” We have come to understand that Solomon’s strength was unlike his father’s. For his Father was a great leader of many wars while Solomon’s strengths were in the realm of the mind, meditation, planning, negotiation and organization. When Solomon wrote Proverbs he was at the height of his power and had matured. Yet not aged, as we understand that he wrote Ecclesiastes in his older age and was more inclined to philosophical conclusions by that time.
As each of us pick up our canvas and paint brushes with lavish colors and go to work we see color, we see instructions, we see reprimand, yet, we at times, fail to embrace it’s beauty. Why? Yes, why, do we want to play the fool? Shakespeare tried to understand and answer, as many other greats in history have tried.
What does our face look like today? Is it a face of a jester, wearing a cap with bells on it and carrying a mock scepter? Are we a buffoon, a hoot, a wisecracker, a smart-ass, a smart aleck?
Let us take our lessons from Solomon and use meditation, planning, negotiation and organization to see if our face is the face of a fool? Let us count the ways that we have taken counsel and embraced the counsel with all that is within us and watch our canvass beam with color as our face becomes the face of the wise. Still the abstract painting as it will show abstract forms for the wise to decipher while the fool will never understand.
NKJ “The ways of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise.
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Im understanding …..if we are hearers only and not doers then we are fools…..:)dj….I dont want to be that!
A fool, by definition is: ” A person who lacks good sense.”
Wise, by definition is: “Having or showing good judgment and intelligence.”
I’m with you DJ, we want to be wise.
Reading all the above scripture versions makes me see clearer how serious it is to be a fool and as Needles defined, ‘to lack good sense.’ The consequences are grave. You can’t play around with counsel and pick and choose which you will heed and which you won’t. Proverbs 1:32 says the complacency (indifference and unconcern) of fools will destroy them. Sara asks,“Why? Yes, why, do we want to play the fool?” Proverbs 1:22 addresses this I believe because fools hate knowledge and disdain (find contemptible) counsel (vs. 25) and won’t choose the fear of the Lord (vs. 29). And God says when a fool chooses to be a fool He lets them have their way and when calamity comes He will laugh at it (vs.26). I guess that’s the jester …dancing right into destruction while God laughs at Him. How awful. And all because when that mirror, mirror of counsel is held up, the fool flies off in a rage rather than love and cherish and heed it. The pride, as Sara mentioned, of thinking you know better is a blinding force. Sounds like humility and trust and obedience has to come into play if I don’t want that abstract jester painting hanging on my façade. Again, this blog makes me realize I must be alert to always heed Godly counsel if I want to avoid being a fool.
Thanks to all, I’m learning a lot. Thanks Needles for the definition of fool and wisdom. In James 3 of the Message it says, “Do you want to be counted wise (opposite of the fool who is lacking good sense), live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, (like Dorothy said – doing), not the way you talk, that counts. James says mean-spirited ambition in a person isn’t wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn’t wisdom. (So if you are not wise, you are the fool.) Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn’t wisdom. According to James these are animal cunnings and devilish conniving. James goes on to say that whenever you’re trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the other’s throats. Real wisdom, God ‘s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable overflowing with mercy and blessing, not hot one day and cold the next. Become right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor, (therefore no twisting of the truth to look better than you are, no mean spiritedness towards others. Practice and be obedient to what God says through the scripture how to treat others.) In Chapter 4 it goes on to say that we are spoiled children each wanting our own way (just like the Jester, dancing all around saying to others look at me). In James it says, “You’re cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and His way. (How awful! What foolish ambitions!)… (God cares.) The proverb has it that “He’s a fiercely jealous lover.” And what he gives in love is far better than anything else you’ll find. It is common knowledge that “God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble.” (Therefor we must strive to be wise and not play the fool for their are dire consequences for the fool and an abundance of freedom and joy in Jesus for the wise.) I like Debi desire Godly counsel to avoid being a fool. I don’t want to put on the Jester in my being and go to hell. Heaven is a much better place with extensive rewards of eternal live. Thanks for Godly counsel.
All this discussion on wisdom and foolishness, makes one want to prevent foolish ways from “creeping” in. Read with me the following scripture: Matthew 25: 1-13 “The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps, but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil. When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight they were roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’ All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. Then the five foolish ones asked the other, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’ But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’ But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling,’Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!’ But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’ So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return.”
God’s Word provides “wise counsel”: to be ready at all times, because we do not know when Jesus will return. We don’t want to have the “face of the jester” or the unpreparedness the five foolish bridesmaids possessed, when Jesus returns. Lord, help us to “embrace” Your “counsel,with all that is within us.”
Needles, great thinking. You have encouraged us greatly with these words from Matthew 25. I feel honored to have a wise friend like yourself to share your life with others here on ‘The Daily Lily. This is an act of courage and selflessness to give of yourself so freely to others. Surely you are a very busy woman striving to be a great Wife, good Mother, and a career that serves others in a very honorable way. Our nation is in need more than ever of great medical care and you give it. Excellent parenting and you give it. A wife that brings honor to her husband, and you give it. A friend that is loyal, loving and kind and works to share your life of family and friends with me and others as I tried to do the same. That is a wise friend and for that I give Thanks to Our Heavenly Father. May His Name Be Praised as we continue to walk with Him and serve Him. I believe this to be the difference between a silly virgin or a wise virgin.
One would ask from this passage in Matthew, how could those virgins without oil be so silly? They obviously had the money to spend, the time and way to go and buy but didn’t? Where they just plain lazy? Of course, Matthew tells us, just plain silly and silly is:
silly is foolish, stupid, unintelligent, idiotic, brainless, mindless, witless, imbecilic, doltish; imprudent, thoughtless, rash, reckless, foolhardy, irresponsible; mad, scatterbrained, featherbrained; frivolous, giddy, inane, immature, childish, puerile, empty-headed; informal crazy, dotty, scatty, loopy,wingy, ditzy, screwy, thick, thickheaded, birdbrained, pea-brained, dopey, dim, dimwitted, halfwitted, dippy, blockheaded, boneheaded, lamebrained; daft, chowderheaded; dated tomfool. antonym sensible. 2 that was a silly thing to do unwise, imprudent, thoughtless, foolish, stupid, idiotic, senseless, mindless; rash, reckless, foolhardy, irresponsible, injudicious, misguided, irrational; informal crazy; daft. See FOOL!
antonym sensible.
sensible… practical, realistic, responsible, reasonable, commonsensical, rational, logical, sound, balanced, grounded, sober, no-nonsense, pragmatic, levelheaded, thoughtful, down-to-earth, wise, prudent, judicious, sagacious, shrewd. See note at tangible . antonym foolish.
….did you know that proverbs 31 was speaking about Needles?…yes ..she has her part written in the Word you know…and in it it says she works in her field and she buys and takes care of her house hold….to me that means she plants in the field that she bought..with her own money.. and it could have been an olive grove/time spent in the written word….she wasnt lazy she worked and had supply …for herself and household….she wasnt/isnt foolish or lazy….shes the proverbs 31 woman and she shines…..thank you for sharing so much light…:)dj
Thinking about the saying, “once a fool, always a fool” reminds me of the blog that Sara did on the ‘leopard that can’t change his spots, or a fool that will not change his ways’. Now there have been people who seem to have changed for a while. They get convicted of their foolish ways, get “religion” after a fashion, seem to start to straighten out their lives, for a season. But when that old sin that so easily besets us all (of whatever ilk it might be) comes knocking on the door then the Apostle Peter describes what unfortunately happens in the cases of fools. 2Peter 2 says, “For is they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the full, personal, knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, they again become entangled in them (the pollutions) and are overcome and their last condition is worse than the first.
For never to have obtained a full personal knowledge of the ways of righteousness would been better for them than after having obtained such knowledge they turn back
and turn away from the holy Commandments that were given to them in the WORD of GOD!
And here is the FATAL WARNING to all those who would remain fools. v.22) “There has befallen them the thing spoken of in the true proverb. ‘The dog turns back to his own vomit and the sow that was washed returns to dig in the mire. (prov.26:11)
The Message give Proverbs 26:11 a real kick..”As a dog eats its own vomit, so fools recycle silliness.
Oh, thank you DJ. God is so good to us all. I’d like to thank Him right now for the dailylily and all that He has blessed me with. Sing with me:
“God is so good,
God is so good,
God is so good, He’s
so good to me.”
I agree with you Needles that God is so good to us all. I am singing with you.
You just sang with Needles…God is so Good. Now visit this website and sing with me.
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/a/l/l/allbecau.htm