A Wise Man or A Fool

              Reading Proverbs 14:24-27 quoted below, we see the definitions of two people.  The first person is wise in what he owns, and is a true witness.  He delivers souls and has a strong confidence and his children are protected through his fear of the Lord.  The second person we are told is a folly (weakness of intellect; imbecility of mind; want of understanding; depravity of mind,) a foolishness of fools.  We are also told he is deceitful (tending to mislead, deceive, or ensnare,) like the devil willing to draw you into his foolishness, (absurdity; folly.)                                                

               So how do these definitions affect you and I?  What one man calls wise, another might call folly.  So how can we know if our lives are being written as “wise” or in “foolishness?” 

              For us to answer these questions, we must resort to God’s Word.  God’s Word is the final authority; and it should be the final authority in our lives.  How do we know, without a doubt, if we, and our family, are living wisely?

Joshua 24:15  And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

              Who do you and your family serve?  A wise man knows who God expects him to serve.  Joshua gives us the choice of a wise man and his family.  It does not matter what your parents were, make your choice, “choose you this day whom ye will serve;..”   The choice for every person is to choose God and His Son, Jesus.  This doesn’t mean you will always make wise decisions.  You will make mistakes, in that there is no doubt. 

Romans 12:1-2  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  (2)  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

              However, by choosing God and seeking His “…that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God,” you will have made the correct choice, a choice of living a sacrificial life in the service of God.  By transforming our minds, we can more clearly see God’s will, and we will be more conformed to Him than to the “world.”

              Choose God today and avoid the “…the snares of death.”  Accept Jesus.  He is the way, the only way.

Bro John R. E Chastain

Proverbs 14:24-27  The crown of the wise is their riches: but the foolishness of fools is folly.  (25)  A true witness delivereth souls: but a deceitful witness speaketh lies.  (26)  In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.  (27)  The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.