Solomon doesn’t hold out much hope for fools. Yet two verses in Proverbs say it can get even worse!
- “Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Proverbs 26:12). Conceit goes hand-in-hand with sin and disrespect for God’s word. “Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil” (3:7).
Conceit also keeps company with laziness. “The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly” (26:16).
Conceit brings God’s judgment. Isaiah warned, “Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight” (Isaiah 5:21). This, along with six other woes, introduced a pronouncement of divine judgment upon the people: “Therefore, as the fire devours stubble . . . so their root will be as rottenness . . . For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still” (5:24, 25).
- Do you see a man hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Proverbs 29:20). Sometimes I’ve wished I had said something rather than remaining silent; but far more often I’ve wished I had kept my mouth shut! Here is additional wisdom on the subject: “In the multitude of words sin is not lacking. But he who restrains his lips is wise” (10:19). “He who has knowledge spares his words, And a man of understanding is of a calm spirit. Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive” (17:27, 28). “Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few” (Ecclesiastes 5:2).
Let us remember the words of Jesus: “For every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment” (Matthew 12:36).
–Joe Slater
