Sunday Sermons
The Fool
I like the following introduction to Proverbs: “In our society wise men are easily confused with wise guys. If knowledge could save us, we would have more than we could handle. Since 1955 knowledge has doubled every five years; libraries groan with the weight of new books. In fact, our generation possesses more data about the universe and human personality than all previous generations put together. Yet by everyone’s standards, even with all our knowledge, the world is a mess. With all our knowledge, society today is peopled with a bumper crop of brilliant failures. We probably do not have more fools than other nations, but as Jane Addams once said, ‘In America fools are better organized’. Men and women educated to earn a living often don’t know anything about handling life itself. Alumni from noted universities have mastered information about a narrow slice of life but couldn’t make it out of the first grade when it comes to living successfully with family and friends. Let’s face it. Knowledge is not enough to meet life’s problems. We need wisdom” [1] In this lesson I want to examine the question, “So just what makes a person a fool in the eyes of God?”
Disproportionate Anger
Solomon noted that anger resides in the heart of the foolish person (Ecclesiastes 7:9), and also noted that unlike the wise man who avoids strife, “Any fool with quarrel” (Proverbs 20:3; 29:9 “The foolish man either rages or laughs, and there is no rest”; 29:11 “A fool always loses his temper”). “The general sense is clear: there is no arguing calmly with a fool” (Kidner p. 174). The inference is that fools could care less about what is right, true, or logical, rather they will adopt any tactics to win an argument. This verse might also refer to what happens when one meets a fool in a court of law. ‘He cannot appreciate or distinguish the good or the bad, the ugly or the beautiful, the safe from the dangerous. He treats all people, regardless of the honor they deserve, in the same stupid way. Elsewhere the proverbs counsel corporeal punishment as the only kind that makes an impression, and then only very slowly (10:13; 18:6; 19:29; 26:3)” (Alden p. 201). “Almost anyone can start an argument, but it takes a truly wise man to resolve issues, avoid strife, and make friends out of enemies” (Alden p. 148). “A fool’s anger at others or himself almost always seems to be far more severe than appropriate. Disproportionate anger is a fight waiting to happen. In that sense, it is not anger that stimulates constructive action toward a reasonable goal; it is merely the desire to find relief for some inner turbulence that is not quieted without a sacrifice of another person’s blood” (Bold Love, Allender p. 258).
[1] Proverbs: A Commentary On An Ancient Book Of Timeless Advice, Robert L. Alden, p. 7.
Impulsive Anger
“The fool lacks self-control and is reckless (Proverbs 12:23; 14:16; 29:20). Not only is the fool a thunderous storm, but the storm is also one that can develop suddenly out of a clear, sunny day. Impulsivity is a means of acting without bearing responsibility for an act. We seem to live with the presumption that if we did not do something with calculating intentionality, then we cannot be held as responsible” (Bold Love p. 259). “The fool is the slave of every impulse and is at the mercy of every moment when he chances to feel irritation” (Gaebelein p. 1114).
Repetitive Anger and Sin
“Like a dog that returns to its vomit is a fool who repeats his folly” (Proverbs 26:11). “2 Peter 2:22 quotes this to show that by this action such a person gives himself away. Not his sampling of better things, but his reversion to the lower, is the test of him---just as the tastes that a dog does not share with man stamp him as unmistakably a dog” (Kidner p. 163). In light of 2 Peter 2:20-22, we are being told that the biggest fool of all is the unfaithful Christian. Sin, any sin, is about as attractive as dog vomit! Kidner’s comment needs to be grasped. Changing your life for a short time, doing some good deeds, making some improvements, putting on a good attitude---isn’t proof that one has really learned. Even the most hardened sinners can “appear” to have reformed themselves for a time. The real test is time! Did we learn from the past, or have we returned to our former sinful habits? “A fool is not usually cold and unfeeling. In fact, he may be very warm and sympathetic, but not for long. His feelings are usually like a travelogue instead of a real trip. They are a brief emotional excursion that hits the highlights, but never ventures into the smells and sounds that make up a real city. Once real depth of feeling and relationship is required, the fool is usually bored or distracted to other factors that are more personally rewarding” (Bold Love pp. 257-258). “But the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth” (Proverbs 17:24). “Wisdom is in the presence” in contrast to the fool in the second part of the verse, the wise man keeps his mind focused on the goal. In addition, the wise man sees wisdom right where he is. The foolish man’s sight is directionless. “The phrase might also mean the fool dreams a lot instead of making realistic plans. He might also make plans which are too idealistic or impractical, but in any case it takes a disciplined mind to make plans that work. The discerning man operates within boundaries while the fool does not” (Alden p. 137). “The fool misses the opportunities at hand and is always supposing that somewhere else, something else, is really better” (Hunt p. 225). One of the qualities of a fool is the inability to concentrate or fix their attention. Learning, tackling difficult subjects, thinking through a problem—is boring to the fool.
Easily Satisfied
On the one hand, the fool is never satisfied, but on the other hand he seems easily or too easily pleased (Luke 12:19). In addition, the fool also loves to listen to himself. “A fool does not delight in understanding, but only in revealing his own mind” (Proverbs 18:2); “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes” (12:15). “I have met recovering alcoholics, sexaholics, bulimics, Christians of all stripes, preachers, counselors, Indian chiefs, and CEO’s who were transported by the sound of their own intoxicating babble. They were no longer as enslaved by their primary addiction, but they were still addicted to the presumption that they had the steps of life and the know-how to lead everyone to the new Promised Land. The fool thinks he’s right in everything he does, whether it’s interpreting a Bible passage or operating a sewing machine. The fool is easily filled, especially with his own grandiosity, but he is blind to the consequences of his direction in life. The fool may be brilliant in his chosen field or in academic pursuits, but he is a jerk in life” (Bold Love p. 262).
Morally Dense
“Fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7); “A fool does not delight in understanding, but only in revealing his own mind” (18:2). Such a mentality resents any form of authority over them, “I don’t want people telling me what I can and can’t do”(2 Peter 2:10). The idea behind the word “despise” is, “contemptuous trampling under the feet” (P.P. Comm. p. 6). Compare with Matthew 7:6. Carefully note the thing that makes a person a “fool” isn’t a lack of education, rather it is a bad attitude. The fool has a moral problem. Immediately this book informs us that many people are going to reject wisdom. In fact, only a few people might be on the road to wisdom (Matthew 7:13-14). This book often talks about the fool and in the following chapters we will learn that the fool is: arrogant (12:15), short-tempered (12:16), boastful (14:3), conscience-less (14:9), disobedient (15:5), argumentative (20:3), cannot imagine that he could be wrong (17:10), has a flippant outlook on life (14:9), and knows no restraint (20:3). Kidner notes, “it must always be remembered that the book has in mind a man’s chosen outlook, rather than his mental equipment…The root of his trouble is spiritual, not mental. He likes his folly, going back to it ‘like a dog that returns to his vomit’ (26:11); he has no reverence for truth, preferring comfortable illusions (14:8). At bottom, what he is rejecting is the fear of the Lord (1:29)” (p. 40). Note, the fool does not despise all “knowledge”. “The fool may be a follower of the gurus of positive self-talk or a devotee of the most recent cure for the ills of the soul. The fool believes there is an answer to the emptiness that only heaven can fill. The fool seems to be an expert at calculating gain, but is unable to look deeply at the inevitability of loss” (Bold Love p. 262). The fact is that often the fool may read quite a bit, but he is rejecting any knowledge associated with God. The fool may read many self-help books, and attend various seminars, as long as none of the above confronts them with their sin.
A fool despises the cost of growth
“A fool rejects his father’s discipline” (Proverbs 15:5). “The fool refuses to struggle with issues of character. Rather, he gives himself over to something that provides relief without enticing him toward heaven. The fool lives for pleasure in order to hide from the decay of the world and his body. But death will catch him mid-sentence, and without warning, his soul will be required to stand before an unflinching and Holy God” (Luke 12:19) (Bold Love p. 265). The mistake that the rich man made in this story is that he believed that life was manageable and completely under his control. “The fool hates anything that exposes the ugliness of his heart. Consequently, the fool is repelled by the process of honestly facing his life and embracing the pain that produces lasting beauty” (Bold Love p. 264). We are yielding to folly when we refuse to exercise patience, or endure and maintain our faithfulness even when life is difficult. Folly does not care for verses such as Romans 5:3-5 or James 1:2-4. “The fool wants to believe he can win the superficial spoils of war, thus win the war” (p. 266).
Fools are out of control
Not only in the area of speech (Proverbs 18:6-7), but also in the realm of finances “There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man swallows it up” (Proverbs 21:20). The phrase “Swallows it up” means that the foolish are impatient and insist on having everything today. While the wise man through diligence, restraint, and patience accumulates physical and spiritual wealth. “Wise people plan ahead and so have plenty to eat, while foolish people ‘devour all they have’ without thinking at all about the future. (Alden p. 157). Anything worthwhile, physical wealth, or spiritual wealth takes time, dedication, and effort. How many people in our society are living for the moment? How many refuse to save and insist on having everything they want right now? Again, one of the marks of folly is demanding instant relief, which is living for the moment. “The primary crucible the fool avoids is integrity in relationships. Relationships require enormous struggle and passion to cultivate a crop worthy to be called tasty” (Bold Love p. 265).
Loving a fool
There is a definite emotional cost for anyone related to a fool, especially for his or her parents (Proverbs 15:20). Yet there are warnings in Proverbs about interacting with a fool. Beware of thinking that hiring him will bring about a change (26:10); and do not entrust any important task to him (26:6), and do not try to change him by creating in him some positive self-image (26:8). Be careful when you engage him in conversation you might become so exasperated that you start acting like him (26:4),instead give him the answer he deserves from God (26:5). Allender reminds us that loving a fool is difficult because on one hand he or she seems perilously close to hardness and on the other frustratingly close to repentance. “The fool may live in this twilight zone for years, and the tension of dealing with him can be overwhelming” (p. 268). Yet Proverbs 26:5 reminds us that what the fool really needs is for someone to stand up to him and kindly expose his folly for what it is.
