Pardon My Interruption: Craig's Thoughts About This And That
“Whoever misleads the upright into an evil way will fall into his own pit, but the blameless will have a goodly inheritance.”
Proverbs 28:10
Be aware and careful how you influence others.
Jesus made a similar point: “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:5-6 ESV).
“Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”
Proverbs 27:17 ESV
Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Proverbs 26:12 ESV
Self praise is so dangerous. This book of Proverbs is filled with warnings about the danger of being a fool. Yet here, it seems to say there is something worse than being a fool, and that something is being filled with appreciation of self.
Be careful. Be careful. Be careful. As Proverbs 27:2 (ESV) says, “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.”
Like snow in summer or rain in harvest,
Proverbs 26:1 ESV
so honor is not fitting for a fool.
Snow in the summer is odd. Rain during the harvest is destructive. Why would the writer use these two word pictures to say that it is not fitting to offer honor to a fool?
First, it’s odd to bestow honor on a fool. In Proverbs, the fool is the one who is unwise and destructive in action, spirit, or attitude. Why would you heap honor on that person? Honor is rightly reserved for that which is good or excellent. The Super Bowl MVP gets a trophy, not the player with the worst statistics on the losing team. The kid who wins the spelling bee by correctly spelling “scherenschnitte”* receives the scholarship, not the kid who misspelled “dog” in the first round. This is intuitive; it makes sense, naturally.
Second, honoring a fool for his foolishness is not only odd, it’s destructive. Farmers race to get the crops in ahead of the rain during harvest season because of the potential harm to the crop, both in the field and in the barn. Among other things, late rain can stimulate mold growth, which can make its way up the stalk, destroying the corn or grain. A wet harvest can also require extra labor to dry the crop or risk loss of the crop due to mold and mildew while the crops are being stored.
Honoring a fool is destructive because it encourages the fool to continue his foolishness. Why would a man seek wisdom when he is being honored as a fool? Social media may be the most appropriate illustration of this principle. Outrageous behavior or speech is rewarded with likes and shares. And, rather than curb their outrageous behavior, people think … “I can outdo that. Let’s see how many likes I can get.”
Questions:
1. In what ways has my foolishness been honored? Did that honor move me toward godliness or away from godliness?
2. In what ways do I honor fools? Does that move others toward or away from godliness?
3. How has this passage helped me to see a better way?
* 13-year-old Vanya Shivashankar of Olathe, Kansas, was declared co-champion of the 2015 Scripps National Spelling Bee after correctly spelling “scherenschnitte.” She shared the honor with 14-year-old Gokul Venkatachalam of Chesterfield, Missouri, who correctly spelled “nunatak.”
Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold
Proverbs 25:12 ESV
is a wise reprover to a listening ear.
The writer mentions two parties in this verse, the speaker and the listener, and both have an important part in the relationship.
The speaker is described as wise, and his words are corrective. And, though it is not stated specifically the speaker has a willingness to engage another who, given the context, is not doing something correctly. Thus, we could summarize the speaker’s qualities as wisdom and willingness.
In a similar way, the listener demonstrates a willingness to be engaged and corrected by another person, which demonstrates his own wisdom. We can say this with confidence, though it is not explicitly mentioned in this verse, because elsewhere in Proverbs, such a person is described as wise. For example, 10:1 says, “A wise son hears his father’s instruction ….”
The word picture used to illustrate these two people is a gold ring or a gold ornament. These items are used to add value or enhance someone or something else. Thus, the wise reprover adds value to the wise listener. In other words, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17).
Questions:
1. In what way are you preparing yourself to be a wise reprover? How do you build your credibility to offer reproof to another person.
2. Do you have a listening ear, one that accepts correction? When was the last time you received correction/instruction from another person? Did you receive that correction happily or begrudgingly? In what way can you improve in this area?
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