Our last post on Proverbs was What Does it Mean to be Wise? I raised some issues in that post that deserve longer study, so today is the first of (at least) four posts that we will spend looking at the “characters” in the book of Proverbs – the fool, the wise, the naive or simple, and the scoffer… and any others that get dug up in my personal study!

When beginning a study like this on a particular word, I like to use an online program like biblegateway.com to look up all of the occurrences of the word, in this case in the book of Proverbs. Then I often will copy and paste them into a Word doc and color code as I study to see repeating themes – I do this in my Bible, too, with four different Bible highlighters. [Side note - I've been tossing around the idea of doing a basic "how to study the Bible" series... is there interest in this? Please let me know if that sounds helpful to you!!]

Fool

In this document, I’ve highlighted general statements about the fool in yellow, references to a fool’s speech in pink, the fool’s response to correction and instruction in green, and the fool’s anger in red. Doing this allows you to clearly see repeated themes and important ideas.

So, how does the book of Proverbs define a “fool”? Among a few other things…

• A fool hates instruction and guidance. He thinks too highly of his own perspective to seek wisdom and understanding from others.
• The fool is in rebellion against authority, both divine and human, and refuses to receive instruction.
• His mouth quickly betrays his foolish heart – he is recognizable for lying, slandering, using perverse speech, babbling constantly and refusing to hear input from those who actually have something worthwhile to say, and stirring up conflict with his words.
• He is quick-tempered and does not hold back his anger.
• The fool delights in evil and mocks at sin.

In What Does it Mean to be Wise?, we discussed whether or not there could be unrighteous people who are wise and righteous people who are fools.

Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary states, “Several Hebrew words are rendered “fool, ” with nuances ranging all the way from the naive but teachable person (Prov 14:15…) to the hopelessly incorrigible person who deserves no corrective efforts since such will be in vain.” From looking at the usages of “fool” in Proverbs, it does not seem that “the fool” in Proverbs could refer to a believer in Jesus Christ – however, a believer could be naive in thinking and foolish in behavior.

I admit that as I was reading through this compilation of verses there were names and faces flashing through my head – from real life, from literature, from sitcoms and reality TV… it is probably easy for you, also, to conjure up a mental image of a fool! But then, as I summarized these things down into bullet points, it began to be uncomfortably convicting. I am not a “fool” in my character, because I have submitted myself to the Lordship of Christ, recognize and fear His authority, etc. However – how often do I find myself being foolish in my behavior!

Do I think too highly of my own perspective to seek out those who are wise and learn from them? Do I sometimes refuse to submit to human authority because of my own pride and vanity? Do I give vent to my anger? Are my words too numerous, too empty, too self-promoting?

That last point about words is particularly convicting to a person who spends a huge chunk of time each week teaching and blogging and writing about mundane details of life. While I feel called to teach and love to write, am I vainly promoting myself and my ideas, or am I glorifying God and humbly sharing wisdom that has been imparted to me?

As parents, we need to seriously ponder the meaning of foolishness, as well. Proverbs 22:15 says, “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of discipline will remove it far from him.” Children are born as little fools. They are incredibly self-centered, self-promoting, resistant to authority, quick to lie, easily angered (with no restraint), and are inherently bent toward evil. While our secular society would balk at the portrait I just painted of “angelic and innocent” little children, both logically and Biblically we know this to be absolutely true!

My job as a parent is more than just raising my children to be socially functional adults. And guess what? It’s even more than raising them to be righteous – they could be righteous and still be naive and foolish! I pray that they will be righteous, absolutely, but that they will also be wise… And as a good friend, who is one of those rare people who humbly and intentionally seeks out those who are wiser than herself, recently said on Facebook – we need to teach ourselves what we want to teach our children!

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;
Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 1:7