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.