The WOFOYO Podcast
The WOFOYO Podcast
WOFOYO SHORT: What Scripture Says About Fools (Proverbs 17-27)
The ancient wisdom of Proverbs delivers startlingly blunt assessments of foolish behavior that remain painfully relevant today. This deep dive into Biblical teachings reveals the distinction between mere ignorance (which can be remedied) and true foolishness (which stubbornly resists all correction).
Through verse after powerful verse, we discover why "rebuke is more effective for a wise man than a hundred blows on a fool" and how "as a dog returns to his own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly." These aren't just quaint ancient sayings but piercing insights into human psychology. The wisdom of Proverbs reminds us that our choices impact not just ourselves but our families, with foolish children bringing sorrow to parents and sometimes leading to their financial ruin.
The conversation explores particularly resonant themes for our current cultural moment: the danger of honoring fools (which inevitably leads to destruction), the problems with constantly looking to the future without acting in the present, and the importance of knowing when to step away from useless arguments. These teachings challenge us to examine our own lives: Do we welcome correction or resist it? Do we learn from mistakes or perpetually repeat them? Are we truly wise, or merely wise in our own eyes?
Whether you're familiar with Biblical teachings or simply seeking practical wisdom, these ancient proverbs offer timeless guidance on avoiding the pitfalls of foolishness.
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Hey everybody, welcome to another Wofo, yo Short. This is C-Dub. In our last short we were talking about what the Bible has to say about foolishness and by far, like three times anything else, the book that has the most references to being foolish or being a fool is Proverbs. We left at the end of Proverbs 15. We're going to be going into Proverbs 16 and continue going on. Here we go.
Speaker 1:Proverbs 16, 22. Understanding is a wellspring of life to him who has it, but the correction of fools is folly. What does that mean? It means that people that seek wisdom, we know when we get corrected, it is beneficial. However, when you correct a fool, that's a joke. You never see the benefit behind correction.
Speaker 1:Proverbs 17.7. Excellent speech is not becoming to a fool, much less lying lips to a prince. Ah man, when the government starts lying to you, ain't good. Proverbs 17.10. Rebuke is more effective for a wise man than a hundred blows on a fool. In other words, you keep correcting them and even if you have to go into harsh correction, it ain't working.
Speaker 1:Proverbs 17, 12. Let a man be. Proverbs 17, 12. Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs, rather than a fool in his folly. In other words less dangerous. Proverbs 17, 16. Why is there in the hand of a fool the purchase price of wisdom, since he has no heart for it? Say you want wisdom, but if you're foolish you don't have the heart to learn. Proverbs 17, 21. He who begets a scoffer does so to his sorrow, and the father of a fool has no joy. Amen. Proverbs 17,.
Speaker 1:Proverbs 17, 24. Wisdom is in the sight of him who has understanding, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth. Reminds me of the admonition and I believe it was Empire Strikes Back and Yoda tells Luke Skywalker. Luke's saying I'm ready to train. And Yoda goes always have your eyes been on what's far away, over in the future, in the past, never in the present. So you don't want to be unaware of the past, definitely, because then you're doomed to repeat it. You don't want to be unaware and not concerned with the future. Good Lord, the Bible is a prophetic book. It lets you know how things went down and it also is letting you know how similar situations are going to go down. So it behooves you, but you have to be able to act in the present Part of the problems we're going through in the body of Christ. No-transcript. We get so bound up with eschatology or the end times unfolding of events that we haven't done anything in the present, and it kind of made things worse until the appointed time.
Speaker 1:Proverbs 17.25,. A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him. Proverbs 1728,. Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace. When he shuts his lip, he is considered perceptive. There's an old saying that it's better to remain quiet and look a fool than open your mouth and remove all doubt.
Speaker 1:Proverbs 18,. A fool has no delight in understanding but in expressing his own heart. Social media, water coolers at work. Proverbs 18 6. A fool's lips Enter into contention and his mouth calls for blows, always want to be contentious. Reminds me of the old Mike Tyson saying everybody has a plan until they get hit in the mouth. Some people are like violence doesn't solve anything, solve some things. Proverbs 18.7,. A fool's mouth is his destruction. Proverbs 18.7.
Speaker 1:Proverbs 19.1. Proverbs 19.3. Another word for twisted is wicked and his heart frets against the Lord. Proverbs 19.10,. Luxury is not fitting for a fool, much less a servant, to rule over princes. Why? Because you weren't involved in acquiring that wealth and luxury. You don't know the value of it. You don't know the value of it, you don't know the price of it and all you will do is squander it.
Speaker 1:Proverbs 19, 3,. A foolish son is the ruin of his father and the contentions of a wife are continual dripping Boy, that's a twofer. Hate to be that guy. I have seen people I considered friends and our families were friends. Man. I've seen fathers that kept bailing their sons out when they would get in trouble and pretty soon it reaches a limit. You end up with almost bankrupted parents and children that never learned their lesson. Proverbs 19, 29. Judgments are prepared for scoffers and beatings for the backs of fools. This is back when they used to get down like that. Now you end up in jail. I think it would almost be better if you had the beating and went back out to be productive. This is personal opinion.
Speaker 1:Proverbs 23,. It is honorable for a man to stop striving, since any fool can start a quarrel. In other words, do you want to be foolish or do you want to be wise, rather than striving and quarreling? If you know how to step away and know when it's not serving any purpose, that's wisdom. Proverbs 21.10. There is desirable treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man squanders it. Just talked about that. Proverbs 22.15.
Speaker 1:Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child. The rod of correction will drive it far from him. Correct your children when they are young, or else they end up in bad places and doing bad things and saying I didn't know. Proverbs 24, 7. Wisdom is too lofty for a fool. He does not open his mouth in the gate. Proverbs 24 9. The devising of foolishness is sin and the scoffer is an abomination to men.
Speaker 1:Proverbs 26 1. As snow in the summer and rain in the harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool. Just ain't right. Proverbs 26 3. A whip for the horse, bridle for the donkey and a rod for the fool's back. Proverbs 26 4. Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him. You see, somebody is bound up in foolishness. Don't get into it. He who sends a message by the hand of a fool cuts his own feet and drinks violence. It ain't gonna work out well for you.
Speaker 1:Proverbs 26.7,. Like the legs of the lame that hang limp is a proverb in the mouth of fools. It's useless. Proverbs 26.8,. Like the one who binds a stone as a sling is he who gives honor to a fool. You're going to break a lot of stuff. You're going to do a lot of damage. 26.9, like a thorn that goes in the hand of a drunkard, is a proverb in the mouth of fools. 26.10, the great God who formed everything gives the fool his hire and the transgressor his wages. In other words, god's going to make sure it turns out the way it's supposed to in the end. Proverbs 26.11,. Oh man, as a dog returns to his own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly. Now, there's been some times where the Lord has bought this verse up to me, because I kept doing the same stupid thing and expecting different results. So what does that mean? You ain't learning your lesson. You keep going back and doing it again.
Speaker 1:Proverbs 26, 12. Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than him. Ego, ego, ego folks. We're going to finish out with two out of Proverbs 27. 27, 3. A stone is heavy and the sand is weighty, but a fool's wrath is heavier than both of them. They don't know when to stop. 27, 22. Though you grind a fool in a mortar and with a pestle along with crushed grain, yet his foolishness will not depart from him.
Speaker 1:So one of the things you see in these passages is stupidity and foolishness are different than ignorance. If somebody called you ignorant, what is being said is that you are unaware, you're uninformed, you do not know. That can change. We're all ignorant of something. I'm ignorant of quite a few things. There are some things where I have a level of expertise, so be careful. One of the reasons Jesus talked about be careful about calling your brother a fool. He might be better at certain things than you are, so just keep that in mind. But the fool is one who refuses to learn. It's ingrained, it's a mindset. So keep that in mind. Have a great weekend, love y'all, and we'll see you here in about another week. Wofo Yo. Hey everybody, thanks for listening, thanks for getting in the word with us. You can always check us out at wofoyoorg or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, spotify, or check us out on YouTube. For Bones and myself, this is C-Dub, reminding you that if you're going to grow, you got to woe-fo-yo, get in the word for yourself.