The WOFOYO Podcast
The WOFOYO Podcast
WOFOYO SHORT: Are You Walking with the Wise or Following Fools? (Proverbs 1-15)
Foolishness might seem like a harmless trait, but Scripture paints a much more serious picture. This deep dive into biblical wisdom offers a challenging perspective on what it truly means to be foolish according to God's Word.
Drawing extensively from Proverbs, we unpack the profound difference between lacking intellectual capacity and choosing to reject wisdom. The Bible describes fools not by their mental abilities, but by specific behaviors: despising instruction, spreading slander, being quick-tempered, and refusing correction. Most tellingly, fools are characterized by an unshakable self-confidence that prevents growth and learning.
What makes this exploration particularly enlightening is the clarity it brings to everyday decisions. Are you surrounding yourself with wise companions or foolish influences? Scripture warns that "he who walks with the wise will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed" (Proverbs 13:20). In our social media age, where we constantly "feed" on content, this warning becomes especially relevant.
We also tackle the challenging words of Jesus regarding calling others fools. His warning about the seriousness of this judgment reminds us to be careful in our assessments of others while still pursuing wisdom ourselves. True wisdom isn't merely accumulating knowledge—it's knowing how to apply that knowledge in ways that honor God and bring life.
Whether you're new to biblical teaching or a longtime student of Scripture, this episode will challenge you to examine your own heart and habits. Are you pursuing the wisdom that comes from fearing the Lord, or are you comfortable in foolishness? Join us as we seek to grow in godly wisdom together.
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Hey everybody, good morning and welcome to another Wofo. Yo Short this is C-Dub Wanted to talk about one of those things. As my grandmother would say, that's not nice. Well, it might not be nice, but it's Bible, so we're going to get into it. It's going to be real, real. One of the things you need to be careful if you call somebody this. Jesus said so himself.
Speaker 1:One of the harsh realities of life is that you have fools. You have people that are foolish my ex-father-in-law, very, very good guy. But one of the things whenever somebody was doing something stupid, he would go that's just foolishness. He's right. He's being very, very scriptural More and I mean exponentially more than any other book. If you look it up, the term fool is used in Proverbs. I also want to point out I'm going to just pick up some scriptures here in this short and kind of talk about some characteristics of a fool. This is not talking about people that are mentally challenged. That ain't me, not who I am, matter of fact. I remember my first year of college went to this church down in New Orleans and first free missionary Baptist church. Quite often I was the only white guy there, didn't matter, and they had this kid with Down syndrome and would always sit across from me in the next pew and always just wave, and if that don't touch your heart then you're probably not a human being. So definitely not talking about that. Let's talk about some fools here.
Speaker 1:Proverbs 1.7. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1.22. How long you simple ones will you love simplicity, for scorners delight in their scorning and fools hate knowledge. So you're seeing right here, I don't want to learn. Proverbs 132. For the turning away of the simple will slay them. The complacency of fools will destroy them. Are you being complacent? That's foolish. The wise shall inherit glory, but shame is the legacy of fools. Well, what's wisdom? Is wisdom? Knowledge, not quite. Wisdom involves knowledge. True wisdom is knowing how to apply knowledge. One of the things I remember in I believe it was the second episode, episode two, I believe it was called the Revenge of the Clones they had.
Speaker 1:Obi-wan Kenobi goes into this diner slash bar and they have this guy with multiple arms and he says they don't understand the difference between knowledge and wisdom and points to his head it's being able to apply the knowledge. Proverbs 9.6,. Forsake foolishness and wisdom. He points to his head, it's being able to apply the knowledge. Proverbs 9.6. Forsake foolishness and live Go the way of understanding. Proverbs 9.13.
Speaker 1:A foolish woman is clamorous, making a lot of noise. She is simple and knows nothing, but she likes to make that opinion known. Guys, same way. Proverbs 10.1. Proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is the grief to his mother. The wise in heart will receive commands, but a prating fool will fall.
Speaker 1:So what he's talking about here, a lot of this foolishness, is not being teachable. It's not a lack of capacity although, man, that's a fact of life. There are some people you don't trust with certain tasks because they lack the capacity. It doesn't make them bad people per se. Again, some people are just not as smart as others, and when I say that, understand that that can come and go depending on what the task is at hand. There are some people that are really dumb in some areas. You put them on the right task and all of a sudden in that area they become geniuses. That's one of the reasons Jesus said you've got to be really, really careful about calling somebody a fool, because you're in danger of hellfire if you say to your brother, thou fool, or raka.
Speaker 1:Whoever spreads slander is a fool. Proverbs 10, 18,. Like to gossip, like to go? It's, it's fun, uh. Proverbs 10, 23 to do evil is a sport to a fool. But a man of understanding has wisdom. So it's the, it's the rumor game, it's talking stuff. Uh, man, I've had that effect of marriage before. Uh, had it happen, and when I confronted the dude, uh-huh. One of the things you can do to minimize the foolishness is have guts enough to lovingly but at the same time firmly address those that are doing stuff. And the other thing is, I didn't do that. I didn't do that. Well, now you're dealing with not only a fool but a coward, and those are fairly easy to deal with.
Speaker 1:Proverbs 10.21,. Lips of righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of wisdom. In other words, if you have a wise person, you can take their advice. It's going to help feed your family, it's going to help make the money stretch. It's going to help you to foresee what's going on and make wise decisions. He who troubles his own house Proverbs 11, 29 will inherit the wind, and a fool will be servant to the wise of heart. So there's some fun in being foolish, okay, but in the end, if you continue down that path, it makes you a servant to those who are wise.
Speaker 1:Why is it important to get into the word for yourself? Proverbs 12, 15. The way of the fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is safe. The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise. A fool's wrath is known at once Proverbs 12, 16,. But a prudent man covers shame. The way of the fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise. Find people that are wise. That's Proverbs 12, 15. Proverbs 12, six fools Wrath is known at once, but a prudent man covers shame. Are you wanting to expose everything? I mean, I pray daily for exposure, but expose it in me first. You know, bring everything to light so it can be dealt with. Proverbs 12, 23,.
Speaker 1:A prudent man conceals knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaims foolishness. A lot of people don't like this. A prudent man conceals knowledge. Why would you conceal knowledge? Because there is treasure in seeking out the knowledge, the reason things are concealed. A lot of times it's the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings to search things out. There is development that happens in the pursuit and searching of knowledge. Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool opens his folly.
Speaker 1:Proverbs 13, 6. The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul, but it is an abomination for fools to depart from evil man. I see this so many times that you find folks and you go hey, you're pointing out that the path that you're going on it leads to destruction and if you keep going down that it's going to be bad. But you know they learned that stuff from grandma and they learned that from their pastoral father or grandfather. And so, man, when it comes to church traditions and a lot of the foolishness that goes on in the institutional church man, it's an abomination for them to depart from this evil. And I mentioned before, evil simply means harmful in a lot of contexts. And there is, you know, like the diabolical evil and stuff, but it's all meant to bring you harm. So to depart from that which brings you harm, that's an abomination to a fool. He who walks with the wise will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed. Proverbs 13, 20.
Speaker 1:Proverbs 14.1. So one of the telltale signs of pride or one of the telltale signs of foolishness is pride. Proverbs 14.6,. A wise man fears and departs from evil. In other words, fears reverence. So what is godly, what has established, what is productive, the wise man will hold that in reverence. A fool rages and is self-confident.
Speaker 1:One of the things I've seen here lately is people want to tear everything down, everything from the past. They want to tear it down because, in their own eyes, they're more righteous than anybody else. I can't be a bad person, I'm a good person. I hear that so many times. I'm like, no, they're more righteous than anybody else. I can't be a bad person, I'm a good person. I hear that so many times. I'm like, no, you're not, I'm not a good person. Jesus Christ was good and he even said why do you call me good? Ain't nothing good but God? So are you a good person? Well, how plugged in are you to the Lord? How are you letting the Lord move through you? When are you to the Lord? How are you letting the Lord move through you?
Speaker 1:Quick temper Proverbs 14, 7. Quick-tempered man acts foolishly. So is your temper quick? Or are you able to be disciplined? Proverbs 14, 33.
Speaker 1:Wisdom rests in the heart of him who has understanding. What in the heart of fools is made known Proverbs 15, 5. A fool despises his father's instruction, but he who receives correction is prudent. Are you the kind of person that nobody can tell you anything? Especially, it should be known that your father, your earthly father, is imperfect. Even then, have wisdom enough to glean the good and humbly step away and don't apply that which is harmful Proverbs 15, 14.
Speaker 1:The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness. Can you say, social media man, this last one we're going to do. A wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish man despises his mother. But get in the word for yourself and see how the Bible describes fools. You also need to know when to walk away, because the only hope for a fool really you're not going to convince them, it's going to be the Holy Spirit having to do a work that takes some doing. I want to encourage you to get in the Word for yourself, see what that Word says and by all means apply it. Wofo yo, have a great week. Hey folks, thanks for listening. We hope this challenges you because you get in the world for yourself. You can always check us out at wofoyoorg, find out how to contact us there, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, spotify or Audible, or even check us out on YouTube. For Bones and myself, this is CW reminding you if you're going to grow, you got to Wof.