Message: Proverbs 26 has quite a bit to say about the fool. As I was reading it, it occurred to me how much I read that and think it’s about other people. Nobody wants to be “that guy”, yet we all have a bit of that guy’s tendencies in us. I hope not to be ever classified as a fool, but I need to take notice of what God calls foolish and eliminate those behaviors out of my life. According to chapter 26 a fool is wise in his own eyes so therefore he rejects the wisdom and council of God in his life and insists on doing things his own way. I wish I could say I have never done that, but I definitely have. Verse 7 compares a proverb in the mouth of a fool to having legs that are paralyzed and just hang. There are so many implications to this (and by the way this is not a jab at handicapped people by any means) but it helps us to understand that we were created with purpose and if we don’t do what we were created to do it is the equivalent of being a body part that doesn’t function. Not only that but verses 8 and 9 tell us that giving honor to a fool is like flinging a stone in a sling shot and that a proverb in the mouth of a fool is like receiving a beating with a stick from a drunk person. Verse 10 tells us that hiring a fool is like and archer that wounds everyone. What I get from this is that being a fool is not just a danger to themselves, but their behavior becomes reckless and dangerous to everyone they encounter. What is a fool? Anyone who ignores the council of God, lives unchecked and refuses to be accountable for it. There are areas of my life that I have been very disciplined and accountable, but there are also areas of my life where I have lived like I know what is best and not only refused to be accountable, but also refused to even accept or acknowledge it. What’s worse than a fool? A blind and reckless fool!
Command: Stop making decisions without consulting with God! Even in the things that seem right, I need to consult God and his word in everything because only a fool assumes they are right and are blinded my their pride.
Promise: If I consult God and his word in everything, God will walk with me and for me even if I get it wrong. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble so even if I misunderstand God’s instructions and mess things up, there is grace for me because I have not intentionally hardened my heart and turned from his council.
Warning: If I refuse to humble myself and seek God in my decisions, not only will I be accountable for the outcome, but I will also damage others but be too blind to see it.
Application: This is a really hard word, and nobody likes to identify as a fool, but when I read this it hit me that only a fool will read this warning and assume it is for someone else. Only a fool will read this and refuse to examine the rebellion of their own heart, and only a fool will be too blind to realize who they are. I would rather be corrected for my mistakes and misinterpretations than to pretend I am right and be considered a fool. I might be able to fool myself and sometimes others too, but I can’t fool God. He knows the motives of my heart and he sees the pride that I am blind to. Lord, Jesus, please reveal to me the areas where I am stubbornly walking out my own way because I think it’s right. Please heal my spiritual blindness and help me to humble my own heart before you have to do it for me. I thank you that you are kind and good to us when we make mistakes, so there is no reason for me to pretend with you.
