Proverbs 26:1-14 New International Version (NIV)
26 Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, honor is not fitting for a fool. 2 Like a fluttering sparrow or a arting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest. 3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the backs of fools! 4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him. 5 Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes. 6 Sending a message by the hands of a fool is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking poison. 7 Like the useless legs of one who is lame is a proverb in the mouth of a fool. 8 Like tying a stone in a sling is the giving of honor to a fool. 9 Like a thorn bush in a drunkard’s hand is a proverb in the mouth of a fool. 10 Like an archer who wounds at random is one who hires a fool or any passer-by. 11 As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly. 12 Do you see a person wise in their own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for them.
13 A sluggard says, “There’s a lion in the road, a fierce lion roaming the streets!” 14 As a door turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed. Wednesday - July 15 - Proverbs 26:1-14 Chapter 26 focuses a lot on how to interact with fools. Guide a fool the way you guide an animal (3), do not sink down to the fool’s level and converse with him (4), do not use a fool for an important task (6), and it is quite dangerous to give honor to a fool (8, 10). While we should love all people as Jesus has shown us love, we
cause ourselves unnecessary pain and suffering when we give the foolish people
around us power and authority and listen to their words instead of the Word of
God. How can we apply this to our lives? Maybe you put your money in the hands
of a foolish advisor? Or give the care of your children to foolish babysitters? Or
when you desperately need a friend to share your heart with can you trust them?
Would they be foolish with that secret and use it to destroy you? Are we the fools
who think too highly of ourselves and our own opinions? Foolishness is all around
us and in our hearts. Let us pray that God’s wisdom takes root and grows within us.