Proverbs 19
11 The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.
12 The king's wrath is as the roaring of a lion; but his favour is as dew upon the grass.
13 A foolish son is the calamity of his father: and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.
14 House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent wife is from the LORD.
15 Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.
16 He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul; but he that despiseth his ways shall die.
17 He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.
18 Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.
19 A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment: for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again.
20 Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.
21 There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.
22 The desire of a man is his kindness: and a poor man is better than a liar.
23 The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.
24 A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.
25 Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware: and reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge.
26 He that wasteth his father, and chaseth away his mother, is a son that causeth shame, and bringeth reproach.
27 Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge.
28 An ungodly witness scorneth judgment: and the mouth of the wicked devoureth iniquity.
29 Judgments are prepared for scorners, and stripes for the back of fools.
(Scripture taken from the King James Version, 1987 printing. The KJV is public domain in the United States. To read this passage from The Contemporary English Version, go to www.biblegateway.com and do a passage lookup.)
I encourage you to go to BibleGateway.com and read this passage in the Contemporary English Version. Particularly, I was struck by Verse 29, which says: “Every stupid fool is just waiting to be punished.” Some of us should have that tattooed on our foreheads, don’t you think?! If you will go to this passage online and read it in contemporary language, you will see that foolish behavior is outlined… laziness, disrespect, gossip, flaunting your own opinions, lying, disloyalty, worldliness and looking down on others, and more. And, if you examine your own life, I bet you will find areas where you, like all of us, are operating in foolishness – at least some of the time.
Knowing that “every stupid fool is just waiting to be punished,” why on earth would we continue to operate in foolishness? Who among us wants to be punished? The way OUT of foolishness is clear. We’ve been reading about it for months now, so it’s not like we don’t know how to get out of this mess! So what are you going to do? Are you going to be a stupid fool waiting to be punished, or are you going to listen to the lessons of the Scripture and ask God to lead you in wisdom and His ways? The options are clear… the rest is up to you!
©2007 Debbie Robus
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