Jesus
said:
Matthew 7:24 "
Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him
to a wise man who built his house on the rock:
25 "and the rain descended, the floods came, and the
winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on
the rock. 26 "But
everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a
foolish man who built his house on the sand:
27 "and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds
blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."
There is a stark contrast between the wise and the foolish. Jesus’ illustration shows us that the wise man is the one who listens to the wisdom of God’s Word and lives His life by it. In contrast, the foolish man does not listen to God and lives his life however he wants to. The wise will stand firm in the end, but the foolish will be swept away.
No one is born a fool or born wise because we have to choose how we will live our life. God has given us a free will to either resist His wisdom or to embrace it (Jos. 24:15). As Joshua said:
Joshua 24:15
"And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this
day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were
on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land
you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
The question becomes,
what path will you choose?
The Book of Proverbs has much to say about the wise and the foolish and what their outcome will be. So, let us examine what Solomon wants us to learn about them.
Proverbs 12:15 The way
of a fool is right in his own eyes, But he who heeds counsel is wise.
One of the main
differences between the foolish and the wise is that the foolish live by their
own heart’s desire, while the wise live by the wisdom of God. The foolish
disregard anyone who tries to teach them a better way because they despise
instruction (Prov. 1:7).
The foolish way has its
beginning in childhood. It begins with the rebellious child who refuses to
listen to his parents (Prov. 15:5; 17:25).
Proverbs 15:5 A fool
despises his father's instruction, But he who receives correction is prudent.
Proverbs 17:25 A
foolish son is a grief to his father, And bitterness to her who bore
him.
When a child refuses to
listen to the instructions of their parents, it will cause them much grief. No
parent wants their children to turn out to be foolish, but it happens. When it does,
it breaks their heart and makes them ashamed. Each child has a free will, so some
will take the foolish path no matter how much instruction he is given by his
parents. However, many times the reason these children have chosen the foolish
path is because of poor parenting. Too many have chosen not to discipline their
children because they have brainwashed by modern psychologist who say that
disciplining your kids by spanking them or by using other methods of punishment
will scar them for life and greatly diminish their creative thinking. Solomon
disagrees and teaches that discipline is necessary and shows that we love our
children (Prov. 13:24; 22:15).
Proverbs 13:24 He who
spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.
Proverbs 22:15
Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of correction
will drive it far from him.
Solomon is not suggesting that we abuse our children, but we are to correct them quickly so we can teach them to respect us, which in turn will motivate them to respect the wisdom of God. If we allow them to continue in their foolishness with no correction from us, then they are going to grow up living the foolish lifestyle, which will bring us shame (Prov. 29:15).
Proverbs 29:15 The rod and rebuke give wisdom, But a child
left to himself brings shame to his mother.
Unlike the foolish child, the wise loves to be instructed by their parents, and they will bring them great joy (Prov. 10:1).
Proverbs 10:1 A wise son makes a glad father, But a foolish
son is the grief of his mother.
A wise child understands
that their parents love them and only want the best for them. While he does not
enjoy the discipline itself, he understands that is necessary and shows that his
parents care for him (Heb. 12:6-11).
Hebrews 12:6 For whom
the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives." 7 If you endure chastening, God
deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not
chasten? 8 But if you are
without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are
illegitimate and not sons. 9
Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them
respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of
spirits and live? 10 For they
indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He
for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be
joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the
peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
When the wise are trained
by discipline, they will grow up respecting their parents and the wisdom of God
(Prov. 22:6).
Proverbs 22:6 Train
up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from
it.
Since the foolish are
lead by their own heart, they put their complete trust in themselves, which
makes them self-centered. There are many in our society who has this
self-centered attitude. Many think they are more special than everyone else and
that everyone should cater to them. They could care less what God’s Word says
or what someone thinks because they know in their heart of hearts their way of
life is right.
The wise have a
completely different attitude. They put their complete trust in God and the
wisdom He has given us through His Word. They understand that if they try to
trust in their own heart and what they desire they become fools (Prov. 28:26).
Proverbs 28:26 He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But
whoever walks wisely will be delivered.
The wise are committed to
letting God be their guide because without Him we are nothing (Prov. 14:12;
20:24; Jer. 10:23).
Proverbs 14:12 There
is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of
death.
Proverbs 20:24 A man's steps are of the
LORD; How then can a man understand his own way?
Jeremiah 10:23 O LORD, I know the way of man is
not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.
The foolish are also known for being gullible, but the wise will search a matter out to see if what is being said is true or good advice (Prov. 14:15).
Proverbs 14:15 The
simple believes every word, But the prudent considers well his steps.
For example, Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, asked for advice on how to answer the people of his kingdom. First, he asked the experienced elders who had served Solomon, but like a fool, he decided to take the advice of his inexperienced friends instead, which caused the kingdom to be divided (1 Kgs. 12:6ff).
However, the Berean’s show us what the wise will do because, when they heard the message about Jesus, they listened carefully and searched the Scriptures to see if what was being taught was true (Acts 17:10-12). While the wise will listen to every word, unlike the fool, they will not immediately believe every word. God does not want us to be taken advantage of. He wants us to prove all things by testing them (1 Thess. 5:21).
Since the foolish despise wisdom, it should not surprise us that they love the sinful way. In fact, Solomon says the fool finds great enjoyment in doing evil things (Prov. 10:23).
Proverbs 10:23 To do evil is like sport to
a fool, But a man of understanding has wisdom.
They actually think it is funny to do things that
God hates and to mock Him and His righteous ways (Prov. 14:9). The foolish
heart is so opposed to the wisdom of God and what it stands for that Solomon
says, “it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil” (Prov. 13:19).
The foolish get so wrapped up in their ways and become so wise in their own
eyes that they become blind to the truth. God will allow them to choose this
wicked path, but they have no valid excuse for not believing in God or for no
choosing the righteous path (Rom. 1:20-25).
Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world
His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the
things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they
are without excuse, 21
because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor
were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts
were darkened. 22 Professing
to be wise, they became fools, 23
and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like
corruptible man -- and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God also gave
them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies
among themselves, 25 who
exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature
rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever.
Those who have fully embraced the foolish way are
so stubborn that it becomes almost impossible to turn them from their folly:
Proverbs 27:22 Though you grind a fool in a mortar
with a pestle along with crushed grain, Yet his foolishness will not
depart from him.
This is another classic example of how Solomon
created a picture in our mind so we can visual imagine how difficult it is to
change the foolish. A mortar is bowl and pestle was a large stone or piece of
metal used crushing their harvested grain. He is saying even if you grind away
at the foolish and show them that their way is wrong and it will end in
destruction, many times they will not accept the truth. Instead, “As a dog
returns to his own vomit, So a fool repeats his folly” (Prov. 26:11).
Like north is to south, the wise and the foolish
are polar opposites. Unlike the foolish, the wise are not wrapped up in
themselves, they are wrapped up in God’s wisdom. They love to learn from His Word
because it makes them wiser and more pleasing to God (Prov. 1:5; 9:9).
Proverbs 1:5 A wise man will hear and
increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,
Proverbs 9:9 Give instruction to a wise man,
and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase
in learning.
Not only do they look forward to living by God’s
wisdom, they are able to change their ways when they are corrected (Prov.
17:10).
Proverbs 17:10 Rebuke is more effective for a wise man
Than a hundred blows on a fool.
Solomon even says that a wise man, will love you
for rebuking him (Prov. 9:8). The reason he will love you is because he is more
concerned about being right with God than thinking he is right based on his own
thoughts. This is great attitude to have because it will keep us humble and
keeps us focused on God.
Since the wise and the foolish are complete
opposite, and since the foolish hate the wisdom of God and the righteous way,
Solomon teaches the wise to stay away from the foolish (Prov. 14:7).
Proverbs 14:7 Go from the presence of a foolish
man, When you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge.
Like two rams that continue to butt heads, the
wise and foolish will not find peace (Prov. 29:9).
Proverbs 29:9 If a wise
man contends with a foolish man, Whether the fool rages or laughs, there
is no peace.
The wise is warned to never rely on the foolish
for important things because they will most likely fail to carry out their
task. (Prov. 26:6).
Proverbs 26:6 He who sends a message by the hand
of a fool Cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.
While the wise is to keep his distance from the
foolish, he is still told to answer the foolish with wisdom (Prov. 26:4). But
the wise must never sink to level of the foolish by answering them back with
foolishness (Prov. 26:5).
Proverbs 26:4 Do not answer a fool according to
his folly, Lest you also be like him. 5
Answer a fool according to his folly, Lest he be wise in his own eyes.
Since the wise are followers of God and hate the
things He hates, they wise should make their goal to stay away from the foolish
way (
Romans 12:9 … Abhor what is evil. Cling to what
is good.
The last thing we should
want is to become like the fool whose pathway leads to destruction and complete
separation from God. Instead, we should want to seek the pathway of wisdom,
which is the pathway to righteousness that will preserve our soul (Prov.
16:17).
Proverbs 16:17 The
highway of the upright is to depart from evil; He who keeps his way
preserves his soul.
APPLICATION:
Solomon has given us a clear picture of the differences between the wise and the foolish. God has provided us with all the wisdom we need to live righteous lives and to continue to increase our wisdom, but we have to choose to accept it and make it part of our lives.
Many like to stand out and be different. Considering that the majority of the world is foolishly ignoring the wisdom of God, we will certainly stand out by living our lives by the wisdom of God. Not only do we do get to be different from the world, being wise has the benefit of eternal life in heaven. Let us strive to love wisdom and correction, and let us stay away from foolish way, which leads to eternal separation from God.