The Fool (Part 14)

The Fool

There are 36 references to the word fool in Proverbs alone and over 80 references when you consider its derivatives.  Most of Proverbs deals with comparisons between two people, the wise and the foolish. 

Here is the 14^th mention of the word fool in the book of Proverbs.

Proverbs 10:23 (KJV) ²³ It is as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom.

Let’s take the time to dissect and define this verse.

Fool:                      One who lives life as if there is no God.

Mischief:             devising evil, scheming to do wrong, wickedness.

Sport:                    fun, laughter, play.

The teaching of this Proverb is clear and true.  For a fool, it is a fun game to do wrong.  Literally, it is a sport.  It is a game.  It is planned, schemed, and carried out. 

Enjoyment is derived not only from doing the sinful act, but also planning and conniving the deed.  It is the pleasure that comes from getting away with it. 

In the life of the addicted it is not only the substance or bad habit that must be dealt with, but also the desire for the lifestyle.  Many enjoy the planning, the not getting caught, the lying, the other sins associated with their addiction. Many want a partial victory over alcohol, or drugs for example, but fail to realize the entire sinful lifestyle must be dealt with.  You will only have moments of temporary sobriety unless you deal with the desire in your life for the sport and mischief. 

This is why faith based recovery programs are so effective.  They deal with the heart of man.  They deal with the root issues.  So often the root cause is the root cause of foolishness in life.  It is a rebellion against God and His authority in our lives.  It is a desire to live life according to our wants and desires instead of Gods.  It is a desire to please our own selves instead of pleasing God. 

If you want complete deliverance from addiction, give the control of your life over to the Jesus who loves you and died for you on Calvary’s cross.

Quotes of the Week

Quotes of the Week

"It is good for us to get into the Word, but it is MUCH BETTER for the Word to get into us." —David J. Stewart

 "The Scriptures were not given to increase our knowledge, but to change our lives." —Dwight L. Moody

 Success is never final, and failure is rarely fatal. It’s the courage to continue that counts.  Author Unknown

 Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservation. — Elton Trueblood

 Men may spurn our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments, despise our persons, but they are helpless against our prayers. - J. Sidlow Baxter

 God’s grace is stronger than all the wrongs you’ve ever done. Michael Minot

The only people we should try to get even with are those who have helped you.  Brien Deverick

For anything worth having one must pay the price; and the price is always work, patience, love, self-sacrifice - no paper currency, no promises to pay, but the gold of real service.  John Burroughs

The Price of Success

Proverbs 18:1 (KJV) ¹ Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom.

John Burroughs said and my Dad often quoted in a Dutch kind of way;

 For anything worth having one must pay the price; and the price is always work, patience, love, self-sacrifice - no paper currency, no promises to pay, but the gold of real service.

Solomon writes under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God this Proverb concerning gaining and attaining wisdom in our lives.

1.         You Must Crave Wisdom:

The word desire is the word used for craving.  It is the word used for appetite.  In other words there must be a strong desire for wisdom before one will pay the price to obtain it. 

In Reformers Unanimous I work with many people suffering from varied addictions.  One thing is common and that is how much they desire and crave their addiction.  The craving of addiction must be replaced by an even stronger desire for Jesus Christ.

In John 8:32 Jesus teaches;  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

According to John 14:6 Jesus said that he is the truth.  Connecting the two teachings we learn that in order to have freedom over sin of any kind we must know Jesus Christ.  The first step in knowing Jesus Christ is desire.

2.         You Must Disconnect from the World:

The word separate means to disconnect, disunite, to unplug.  In other words, if one is to gain wisdom they must first disconnect from the influence of the world.  The world is those people, places, and beliefs that are contrary to the Word of God.  It is the source of feeding our fleshly (worldly) appetites.  It is plain and simple giving up that which is sinful and not associating with those who intentionally practice sinful habits.

For there to be change, there has to be change! 

3.         You Must Seek Wisdom:

The word seek means to go after, to look for, to follow.  Wisdom does not seek you, you must seek it. 

Matthew 7:7 (KJV) ⁷ Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

Jeremiah 29:13 (KJV) ¹³ And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
Proverbs 8:17 (KJV) ¹⁷ I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.

Wisdom is defined as living life as if there is a God.  It is knowing the Bible and living it.  It is applying the principles of God’s Word to daily life.  Here in Proverbs 18 God gives us the road map to finding wisdom in our lives. 

This verse practically applied would indicate a need in all of our lives to read, study, memorize and meditate on God’s Word each day.  It would indicate a need to pray and seek God’s help in applying His Word to our daily lives.  It would require reading books that inspire and teach us concerning living the Christian life.  It would compel us to faithfully attend a church where the Word of God is preached and taught.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day

I thank the Lord for my Father.  He was a good man who taught me the value of family, hard work, honesty, and character.  My Dad was the most influential person in my life and I think of him each day.  Dad went home to be with Lord in January 1998. 

I remember Dad and I watching this event in the 1992 Oympics.  It is an inspirational story of a dad supporting and helping his own soul. 



Quotes for the Week

Quotes for the Week

Each week the Lord guides me to quotes that help me in my walk with Him.  Here is the list from last week.  I hope they are a blessing to you.

“The greatest part of our happiness depends on our dispositions, not our circumstances.” ~ Martha Washington, first First Lady of the United States

God uses broken things: broken soil and broken clouds to produce grain; broken grain to produce bread; broken bread to feed our bodies. He wants our stubbornness broken into humble obedience.  Vance Havner

Those who demand freedom from all restraint have already become slaves to their own demands.

He that lies down with dogs, shall rise up with fleas.  Benjamin Franklin

Attempt something so impossible that unless God is in it, it’s doomed to failure. — Author Unknown

"It is not so much the greatness of our troubles, as the littleness of our spirit, which makes us complain." —J. Taylor

 "I never saw a useful Christian who was not a student of the Bible." —Dwight L. Moody

It is better to die for something than to live for nothing.  Dr. Bob Jones Sr.

 Many missionaries estimate difficulty in light of their own resources, and thus they attempt very little, and they always fail. All who have done great things for God first reckon on His presence and power to guide them. — Hudson Taylor

The Fool (Part 13)

The Fool

There are 36 references to the word fool in Proverbs alone and over 80 references when you consider its derivatives.  Most of Proverbs deals with comparisons between two people, the wise and the foolish. 

Here is the 13^th mention of the word fool in the book of Proverbs.
Proverbs 10:21 (KJV) ²¹ The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.
Looking at the preceding verses the Bible is speaking of the topic of the tongue or the words spoken from our lips.  In this proverb, fools die for want of wisdom. What exactly does it mean?  Let us the RU dissect and define method of breaking down this verse.
Fool:      One who lives life as if there is no God.
Die:        To die, kill, or have one executed.  To cease to live, to come to an end.
Want:    Lacking, without. The absence of that which is necessary or useful.
Wisdom:          The Hebrew word is translated heart, understanding, and mind.  It is in reference to                          judgment or common sense. 
Putting this all together we come up with the meaning of this verse.  The person living life as if there is no God has a tendency to speak words lacking sound judgment and common sense.
Let me illustrate.  Eighteen years ago my wife and I sat in a meeting where a psychiatrist made this statement:  I have come to learn in life that there is no right and no wrong. I sat in disbelieve.  Really, there is not one thing that is wrong and there is not one thing that is right!  My brother had a saying concerning highly educated people saying highly uneducated statements; they are educated beyond their intelligence!  I believe this kind of statement is exactly what God is teaching us here in Proverbs 10:21.  The words of fools lack judgment and common sense.
I think the illustration of this little girl makes sense here.  A little girl wrote an essay on her favorite American president, Abraham Lincoln.  In trying to magnify the greatness of Lincoln she wrote: Abraham Lincoln was born February 12, 1809, in a log cabin he built himself.
I have listed some humorous sayings to help illustrate this verse:

I wonder how much deeper the ocean would be without sponges.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
Sometimes I look at that Frisbee and wonder why it is getting bigger. . .than it hits me!
Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.
There are 3 kinds of people, those who can count and those who can’t!

I, like you, have had conversations with people that just lacked common sense and sound judgment.  Here is one that comes to mind when I was in college. A jobless college student said; I need a job so I am going soul winning this afternoon. I responded, soul winning is great, but shouldn’t you go out and put in job applications?  He responded; no, if I go soul winning God will give me a job.  I responded, if you go soul winning, God will give you souls.  Three months later he had won many people to Christ, but was financially withdrawn because he never got a job.

A fool’s speech is lacking sound judgment and common sense.