Prescribing Proverbs – RX 26
Have you picked up your prescription today?
August 26th, 2021
A Proverb a day keeps Untruth away
Proverbs 1:1-6, ‘These are the wise sayings of Solomon, David’s son, Israel’s king—written down so we’ll know how to live well and right, to understand what life means and where it’s going; a manual for living, for learning what’s right and just and fair; to teach the inexperienced the ropes and give our young people a grasp on reality. There’s something here also for seasoned men and women, still a thing or two for the experienced to learn—fresh wisdom to probe and penetrate, the rhymes and reasons of wise men and women.’ (MSG)
Prescription (RX) Twenty-Six: Foolish Games
Proverbs 26:7, 11-12, ‘Like the useless legs of one who is lame is a proverb to in the mouth of a fool. As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly. Do you see a person wise in their own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for them.’ (NIV)
The Book of Proverbs is a book that depicts foolishness. Its author, King Solomon, who some rumor was the wisest person to have lived, had no shame in painting vivid portraits of all the existing foolish ways of man, nor the cost of such folly. It is quite clear what foolish means, and if you are anything like me, maybe you even have images burned in your brain of who you think has made foolish choices and perhaps even someone you think of as a fool.
Recently, a group of us used the visual of a dog returning to its own vomit in comparison to a guy who has expressed interest in getting help but who continues to go back to his old playgrounds to play with former playmates. Each time he faces a mishap or things go awry, he tends to act puzzled and blames others. Instead he should sincerely accept responsibility for his actions and consider changing his ways. Just like a dog is not sent by his master back to a pile of vomit neither is our friend being forced to repeat ongoing mistakes, but foolishly he does anyway.
We laugh about the definition of insane meaning ‘making the same choice repeatedly, each time expecting a different result’, but really, in truth, do we anticipate a differing outcome? Or are we just acting foolishly and being lazy. And that in and of itself is a foolish game!
