18 NOV 23 Saturday: A Closer Walk Devotional
“Unfriendly people care only about themselves; they lash out at common sense. Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions.” Proverbs 18:1-2
I think if Solomon was alive today and spent a few hours looking and listening to the news, social media, or walking our streets; he would confirm his own words from Proverbs 18. People are very self-focused and unhappy with their current condition in life. They want their lives celebrated and the spotlight put on them and it matters not if their lives are in shambles. Common sense is not a part of their thinking, often lash out, and speak all kinds of filth in response to it.
He addresses the same people as fools, who are defined as those who don’t believe in God or reject him. The mind of a fool doesn’t want to listen or understand because they are too busy talking. My Dad would say that God gave us two ears and one mouth so that we would listen twice as much as we speak. Fools only have a mouth and it is difficult and near impossible to keep shut. Do you feel me? Can I get a witness?
I’m not sure if the world is full of fools, but we have given them a platform that touches it. So what do we do with a fool? Solomon gives us a word, sometimes we engage the fool and sometimes we don’t. We have to develop the skills of dealing with people and in the correct environment. Addressing a fool on social media may get you likes, but it will ultimately backfire. It is better to pull the person to the side and have a one-on-one conversation, but know when to let them be. At that point you have to quote Mr. T, “I pity the fool” and move on.
Do you feel like the fools are running the asylum?
Reading Plan: Psalm 87, 90; Proverbs 18; Rev. 20:1-6; Matt. 16:21-28
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