Walking with the Wise #198: Words to the Wise

“The tongue of the wise commends knowledge,

but the mouths of fools pour out folly.”
—Proverbs 15:2

There is a great deal of difference between being ignorant and foolish. An ignorant man simply doesn’t know better. Educate an ignorant man and he will be able to get along just fine. Not so a foolish man. A foolish man is one who knows better, but chooses not to act on it.

We have a tendency to reflect or conform to the environment we’re in. If we are with foolish people, we will be foolish, but if we spend time with the wise, we too will grow in wisdom. Today’s proverb shows that a wise person will seek knowledge and those who spend time with that wise person will grow in wisdom. Not so the foolish person. The foolish person pours out folly and his companions will become more foolish.

As Christians, though we are to spend time with the lost, we must remember that,

“Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise,
but the companion of fools will suffer harm.”
—Proverbs 13:20

If we find out that the behavior of those with whom we spend our time is affecting our own, then we need to remove ourselves from that environment. Endeavoring to surround ourselves with the wise is a worthy aspiration—those who can sharpen and help us become more wise so that we might live a life honoring to the Lord. In our world today, everyone has an opinion about everything—people are always giving advice and it isn’t long before we see that the opinions of men contradict each other. Even godly men don ‘t always agree, but more often than not they do and it behooves us to listen to their words carefully so that we might pursue the path that is most honoring to the Lord and beneficial for us.

Who are you listening to? Are you listening to fools? Are you listening to those who make the fear of the Lord their aim and pursuit? Listen to those who fear the Lord because in them are the words of life (cf. Proverbs 4:10). Amen.