Thought for the Day

These verses tell us the damage a fool can do if given the opportunity. Fools, (those who are obstinate, rebellious, or self-confident) cannot receive godly wisdom.

Verse 6 - Sending a message by a fool "cuts off the feet" of satisfactory delivery. The message will probably not get there, or it will arrive late. A foolish messenger will probably perform his task poorly and leave a bad impression of the person who sent him. Instead of being useful, he creates more work for his employer. I have experienced this when I gave a duty to one whom I thought would surely take care of delivering my bills to the post office for me. They got sidetracked, and so did my mail. Although I would not call this person a "fool" they had done a foolish thing. We all do foolish things at times. This does not make us fools, but we should strive not to allow the enemy to cause us to be foolish in our ways.

Verse 7 - A parable in the mouth of a fool will not be of any use. This verse makes the comparison to one who has lame legs and cannot walk. A person who is lame must be carried about by others; they have to have help. So it is when a fool tries to put forth a parable. Someone else has to explain it or it cannot be understood. Foolish talk never makes sense. In the mouth of a fool, a parable becomes as useless as paralyzed legs.

Verse 8 - Only a moron would tie a stone into a sling, and only a moron gives honor to a fool. Our modern equivalent of this term would be "giving someone ammunition" that is faulty. It would fire in the gun or go the wrong direction. Honor given to a fool is like ammunition backfiring.

Verse 9 - A fool misapplies a proverb so that its point is no more felt than a thorn cutting into a drunkard's hand. He puts a "spin" on a thorny issue so that one does not feel the point that is made. He is self-confident, trusting more in his own judgment than in God's. He waters down the truth. Sometimes God's Word causes us pain when we hear it, as it pierces our hearts. However, in the mouth of a fool, even God's Word can be distorted, so that one does not feel the pain of conviction and thus continues in the path of sin.