The foolish and the wise

“and they [sound wisdom and discretion] will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck.”
-Proverbs 3:22

Have you every known someone who was so smart he made himself into a fool? I knew a man who was undoubtedly bright, and he knew he was bright. So much so that his pride precluded him from taking any advice, wisdom, or understanding from anyone else. He usually acted very poorly in the presence of other people because he was just so impressed with himself that he took no notice of others.

He’s an extreme case, but we all know people like this. At times, I think we’ve probably all been this guy. I know I have. There have been so many times in my life when I thought I knew best, and so I did not take the advice and counsel of others. On a few of these occasions, I ended up being right. More often, I made a fool of myself.

Wisdom and discretion are not about being smart. They are about knowing what to do with what you know. By definition, they are obvious in your day-to-day dealings.

You can be very smart and act foolishly. Obviously this is true. We are not speaking of the same thing here. It’s like saying someone is blond and has blue eyes. Both can coexist. Being smart is about how much you know. Being foolish is how you act. But you cannot be wise and foolish at the same time. You either act with wisdom or act with foolishness, but not both.

I would probably be considered, in most circles, a smart person. I act foolishly a lot though. I recognize this in my myself, and while I used to strive to be smart, I now strive to be wise.

In the same way, I know quite a bit about the Bible. I’m happy that I do. But the theology has not changed my life. It is the understanding of God that has changed me.

The difference is important. I can read a biography of a famous person and know OF him. But his friends actually know HIM. The former may be nice, but the latter is obviously superior.

I can (and did) learn about the Bible, about theology, about interpretations, but it was only when I repented and trusted in Jesus that I could say that I knew Him.

We have seen over and over again in Proverbs how Jesus and the personification of Wisdom are one in the same. This is yet another way. I can know about Him, but it is when I put that knowledge to use, when I act wisely, that I know Him.

That decision hangs about my neck. The change He has made in me is as from night to day. He has taken me from being a basically selfish person to a basically loving one. My understanding of Him must, by very definition, come though in my actions. It is as though I have a little wisdom now, when before I only understood.

The foolishness of our lives without Him is real. We seek to satisfy our lusts, selfishness, greed, ambition, and hateful grudges. We occupy ourselves in things that cannot last. We worry so much about tomorrow, until the day there are no tomorrows left.

But in Him do we seek after something a bit longer lasting and a bit more important. The decisions we make in regard to Jesus last forever. He is the way to life, for only through His Blood can we be saved and forgiven for our foolishness. To deny Him is to choose death. Choose wisely.