Proverbs 1:22 - What Is Foolishness?
Proverbs 1:22 (NIV) How long will you who
are simple love your simple ways? How long will
mockers delight in mockery and fools hate
knowledge?
INTRODUCTION
In the book of Proverbs, a "simpleton" or a
fool is not someone with a mental deficiency but
someone with a character deficiency (such as
rebellion, laziness, or anger). The fool is not stupid,
but he or she is unable to tell right from wrong
or good from bad. [Life Application SB]
COMMENTARY PEARLS
The Opposite Of Wisdom.
Throughout the book of Proverbs the
opposite of wisdom is called foolishness. In English
the word "fool" is little more than an insult.
In Proverbs, however, fools are people so
habitually out of touch with reality that they make
life miserable for themselves and all around
them. We can't treat our body any way we want
without consequences. We can't treat people any way
we want and expect to have good friends and a
strong family. We can't all live selfish lives and
expect the social fabric to remain intact. Fools,
however, do all these things and therefore sow and
reap discord and destruction.
There are various forms of foolishness,
as we will see. But the ultimate foolishness is
to make anything the center of our lives
besides God. That will always lead to disappointment
and breakdown. Jesus describes the "foolish man"
whose home is built on sand instead of on the
solid rock of Christ's word and wisdom (Matthew
7:24-26). Fools fail to see these boundaries embedded
in reality - physical, psychological,
relational, and spiritual. They step outside them and
wonder why they sink.
Where have you seen most recently -
either in your life or someone else's - the bitter
fruit of foolishness?
Lord, my heart so often wants to deny
reality, but that is foolish. Reality in this fallen
world is both wonderful and terrible. Help me see
it for what it is, and teach me to walk wisely
in it. Amen. [Gods Wisdom for Navigating
Life by Timothy Keller with Kathy Keller]
The Mocker.
Three kinds of fools are mentioned in
this verse. The mockers (Hebrew lesim) prove it
is not mental capacity but attitude that
determines whether we become wise or foolish. At the
root of mockers' character is a high pride that
hates submitting to anyone (21:24). Their strategy
is to debunk everything, acting very smug and
knowing in the process. Mockers, though fools,
appear to most eyes as worldly-wise and highly
sophisticated.
Some things, of course, deserve critique
and even satire. Even God mocks sometimes.
However, to "sit in the company of mockers" (Psalm
1:1) is to make cynicism and sneering a habitual
response. Habitual mocking will harden you and poison
relationships. "To 'see through' all things is the same as
not to see." We live in a postmodern age that
encourages deconstruction and in an Internet age that
makes mocking and scoffing easy and reasoned
discourse difficult. So we must resist the enormous
cultural pressure to become mockers. Contrast this
with Jesus: "He will not quarrel or cry out.... A
bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering
wick he will not snuff out, till he has brought
justice through to victory" (Matthew. 12:19-20).
When have you been tempted to roll your
eyes and dismiss someone rather than engaging
with them?
Lord, help me to avoid the world's
shortcuts to looking wise - the cynical air, the
inside joke, the sighs and feigned sadness about
how stupid everyone is. Let me despise no one
and respect everyone, even if I am correcting
them. Amen. [Gods Wisdom for Navigating Life by
Timothy Keller with Kathy Keller]
The Simple.
Every sort of fool is out of touch with
reality, but each kind in a different way. The next
fool in this list is the Hebrew pethiy - the
simple. This kind of foolishness is gullibility.
"The simple believe anything" (14:15). They are
too easily led and influenced. Like children,
they may be overimpressed by the spectacular and
dramatic, or they may need approval too much and so be
taken in by forceful personalities who give it to
them. They will support dictatorial leaders who
promise them peace and prosperity. They can be
intellectually lazy, not wanting to ponder and think out a
matter. They are also likely to fall for
get-rich-quick schemes (12:11).
The simple can change and learn sense
(19:25) but they can also inherit folly" (14:18)
- graduate into being full-blown fools.
Nevertheless, we should be careful not to equate credulity
and naivete with a lack of sophistication. We
once pastored an entire congregation of somewhat
unsophisticated people, but they were by no means simple.
You can lack sophistication, as the world
assesses it, and still be wise. And you can be
sophisticated - well-off, well connected, and educated -
but still be simple.
Whom have you met who you thought was
rather simple but turned out not to be so? What
traits did they reveal?
Lord God, while I see the "mocker" in me,
I also see the "simple." I certainly need
human approval too much and I am also
intellectually impatient, not wanting to think things out.
I have often asked you to save me from my sin.
Now, Lord, save me from my foolishness. Amen.
[Gods Wisdom for Navigating Life by Timothy Keller
with Kathy Keller]
The Obstinate.
The most common word used for fools in
Proverbs is the Hebrew keciyl, the obstinate. The
main mark of fools is that they are opinionated,
wise in their own eyes, unable to learn knowledge
or be corrected.
Child psychologist Jerome Kagan
discovered that children are born with one of three
basic temperaments that determine how they
instinctively respond to difficulty. Some respond with
anxiety and withdrawal, some with aggression and
assertive action, and some with optimism and an effort
to win through by being social and cordial.
Each default works well in some situations. But
Kagan argued that, unless parents intervene,
children's natural temperament will dominate, and they
won't learn how to act wisely in situations in
which their habitual response is inappropriate or
even deadly. In other words, we are naturally
obstinate and unwise. Modern culture insists that we
should let children be themselves, but what feels
most natural to us might be disastrous (22:15).
To become wise, the anxious must learn to be
bolder, the bold to be cautious, and the chronically
sunny to be more thoughtful. Only in Jesus do we
see one who does not habitually assert or
withdraw but always responds appropriately to the
situation with perfect wisdom (John 11:23-25, 32-35).
Where are you most opinionated and least
open to new ideas or criticism?
Father, I see Jesus moving through life
without a wrong word or false step. He knows exactly
when to be quiet and when to speak, when to
correct and when to affirm. How I want to be like
him! Please begin to re-create his wisdom in me,
through your Word and Spirit. Amen. [Gods Wisdom
for Navigating Life by Timothy Keller with Kathy
Keller]
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