A Proverb for the Day 1:22
January 29th, 2009“How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing And fools hate knowledge?” (Proverbs 1:22 NASU). Here wisdom tells us three possible reasons people refuse to hear her call. First, they could be naïve and love simplicity. They do not see complexity in the world, they only see their point of view. They are not willing to open themselves the new and possibly better ways of living. They are happy where they are (i.e., ignorance is bliss). Second, they could be scoffers who delight in sarcasm, cynicism, and ridiculing wisdom. Often when people don’t know something or they are jealous, they make fun of it. They know they don’t have the answer, they don’t want to understand, so they make fun of it to make themselves feel better and to save face. They would rather crack a joke than apply their mind to wisdom. Third, they could be fools who hate knowledge. They hate work it takes to gain knowledge and understanding. It is too difficult for them, or they do not have the diligence required so they hate knowledge all together.
If we would answer Wisdom’s call and separate ourselves from the above groups: 1) We must be willing to open our minds to God’s point of view. If we look only to our own understanding, we will perish (cf. Proverbs 14:12, 16:25). 2) We must not shrug off or think lightly of wise advice. There is a place for humor (cf. Proverbs 17:22), but constant joking can get in the way of learning wisdom. 3) We must roll up our sleeves and prepare ourselves to work. We need to learn new ways of thinking and acting and it takes work and diligence to accomplish this goal.
