The Plumbline

“Fools die because they refuse to follow wisdom. They are content to follow their foolish ways, and that will destroy them. But those who listen to me will live in safety and comfort. They will have nothing to fear.” (Proverbs 1:32-33) The old song, "Fools rush in", admits that some can be so blinded by something or someone, all reasonable thought flies out the door. One of the lines in the song actually says, "Though I see the danger there, if there's a chance for me, then I don't care..." It goes without saying that we rush into danger more times than not simply because we failed to exercise wisdom in those moments. How can we get to the place where we 'don't rush in'? We learn to listen to God's voice! God-given wisdom far exceeds human wisdom, but somehow, we think it is okay to just trudge right on into those moments we will come to regret later on. We refuse to listen to his wisdom and find ourselves treading on thin ice. Another line f...

My pastor aptly states, "Wisdom is not what you know, but what you show."  I cannot think of a better way to describe wisdom.  Many think wisdom comes with age - the older we are, the more wise we become because of what we have experienced.  Not always true!  Sometimes we can experience the same "bad" events over and over again, never learning anything from them!  There has been no learning - so there is nothing new to "show" from the event.  It is likely to be repeated until we learn to "show" what it is God desires to see! The wisdom of the wise keeps life on track;  the foolishness of fools lands them in the ditch.  (Proverbs 14:8 MSG) The writer of Proverbs gives us two scenarios - one of a life which seems to be on track, the other of one which leaves us stuck in the ditch.  As a teenager, I took driver's education classes, but never got my driver's license until I entered the military.  Needless to say, when I finally held the ...

9  A sage trying to work things out with a fool    gets only scorn and sarcasm for his trouble.  (Proverbs 29:9) There is absolutely nothing to be gained by trying to convince a fool that his thoughts or actions are foolish!  Try it sometime and you will walk away from the experience feeling like you have spent that hour hitting your head against the wall!  A fool just cannot see the trees for the forest - they just don't have perspective. I have been in conversations at times that I feel as though they are "spinning out of control" - much like a tornado!  What I have learned is that I cannot ever "convince" the one who is not going to be open to being convinced!  When you present evidence, and there is absolutely no openness to evidence, it is hard to move beyond that resistance. So, how do we deal with the folks in our lives that just don't ever seem to be open to the evidence - whether it is the facts they need to do their job better, ...

1  We no more give honors to fools than pray for snow in summer or rain during harvest.  (Proverbs 26:1) This chapter is full of advice about living around "fools", dealing with their "foolish behavior", or the unceasingly ill-effects of the "attitude of fools".  I thought it might be good to take a look at both the advice for dealing with a fool and their behavior, as well as considering the traits outlined within this chapter to see how many might actually be used to describe us once in a while.  These are by no means an "all-inclusive" list of the character traits of a fool, but they sure give us some insight! Don't respond to the stupidity of a fool; you'll only look foolish yourself. (vs. 4) - the advice to "not respond" to a fool is simply based on the idea that most of their argument is really not based on fact.  The fool argues (presents his/her point) from a position of having a limited understanding of a circumstance....

3  It's a mark of good character to avert quarrels,    but fools love to pick fights.  (Proverbs 20:3) Ever run across an individual that just seems contrary in all they do?  There is just no pleasing them - they find fault with everything and love to quarrel over the silliest of things.  There is a word for these type of individuals - fools!  Solomon makes it quite plain that a fool loves to pick a fight.  It is a mark of honor (of good character) to avoid a fight.  I am not implying that we actually live in a state of existence where we go through life without ever saying a cross word or entering into constructive debate periodically.  Yet, a man or woman of good character knows that insisting on a quarrel is not a sign of wisdom. It is a good thing to overlook the small things in life.  There is a saying I heard some time ago that has stuck with me:  "Is this the hill you want to die on?"  In other words, is thi...