Like snow in summer and like rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool. Proverbs 26:1

Israel was an agricultural nation - therefore when God communicated wisdom to them He often used pictures they knew in their agrarian society. That is what the Lord is doing in Proverbs 26:1. He is speaking of things that any farmer would immediately know is not fitting - or is very wrong. But what is even more wrong than that is the idea of giving honor to a fool.

There is an order to nature. God gave nature an order with the seasons that come to us each and every year. We move from spring to summer, then to fall to winter every year. When these things are out of place they are not just an anomaly, they are harmful. Snow in summer is not just a strange thing, it is a dangerous thing. Crops could be destroyed by a summer snow. Some plants won't grow or have their growth greatly stunted by events like this. Rain in the harvest is devastating. The harvest is typically a dry time where as plants mature and bear their fruit - then then dry and are prepared for harvesting. Rain makes this nearly impossible. Continued rain can even destroy crops by having them rot in the fields. Any man or woman of Israel would know this - and would say that "not fitting" isn't strong enough to convey the problems such situations would bring.

What God is trying to indicate is that just as there is a physical order to creation - there is also a moral order to mankind. This moral order is once again His doing. To follow Him is wisdom - to ignore and even spurn Him is foolishness. Thus to give honor to a fool is not only turning over this moral order - it can be very harmful. A fool will deny the things of God. We read that the fool says in his heart there is no God. His works are ungodly and harmful to himself and all those around him. Thus when a fool is honored, he not only holds his foolish views himself - he infects others with them as well.

Our country currently is honoring fools in abundance. A series of atheist authors have been honored by having their works reach the best seller list. Hundreds of thousands have read the works of these fools who declare God is not great. An entire generation of young people have found atheism to be cool. The shocking statements of these men catch their fancy and thus they have read them - and subsequently followed them as well. Yet rather than see a renaisance of thought and blessing come to our land, just the opposite has happened. The glaring lack of character along with the nuclear attacks on any kind of moral code have brought great destruction to our land. The several financial crises that have arisen in recent months have not come from Christianity. They have come from moral collapse. They have come from the devastation of lies, thievery, and a complete lack of morals and workplace ethics. The supposed smartest among us from the Ivy League schools are at the very center of such ignoble actions.

What we learn from this is exactly what God is trying to tell us here. It is out of place to honor fools. It is unwise to exalt them and give them a greater platform from which to speak. To do so will be very harmful to ANY society. So, as it snows in summer - and rains in the midst of our harvest - may we recognize the fools among us. Even more important though is recognizing and realizing that their exaltation and honor has and will continue to bring great harm to the moral order God has established. Good things will not come of these unwise choices - and we will know this - if we listen to nature's warnings, as well as God's.