The Essence of Foolishness

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The Essence of Foolishness

selections for Proverbs; November 17, 2024; Mike O'Leary

November 17, 2024 • Mike O'Leary • Proverbs 18:2, Proverbs 26:11, Proverbs 1:7, Proverbs 1:20–33, Proverbs 12:15

QUOTES FOR REFLECTION

“There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.”

~Soren Kierkegaard

“Now this is to be a fool— to act contrary to your own knowledge and better judgment.”

“The moth is foolish that flies into the candle, and, having burnt itself, dashes again into the flame. We count the ox foolish that goes willingly to the shambles; but there are multitudes of men and women who take delight in sin; and, though every cup around them be poisoned, yet they drink at it as though it were nectar… We are great fools when we think that we can find pleasure in sin, or profit in rebellion.”

~Charles Spurgeon

“Only in Jesus can those born into folly, increasingly manifesting foolishness, on a crash course for destruction, be set free to true wisdom and ultimate life.”

~David Mathis

SERMON PASSAGE

Proverbs 1:7; 1:20-33; 12:15; 18:2; 26:11; 28:26 (ESV)

Proverbs 1

7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;

fools despise wisdom and instruction...

20 Wisdom cries aloud in the street,

in the markets she raises her voice;

21 at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;

at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:

22 “How long, O simple ones,

will you love being simple?

How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing

and fools hate knowledge?

23 If you turn at my reproof,

behold, I will pour out my spirit to you;

I will make my words known to you.

24 Because I have called and you refused to listen,

have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,

25 because you have ignored all my counsel

and would have none of my reproof,

26 I also will laugh at your calamity;

I will mock when terror strikes you,

27 when terror strikes you like a storm

and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,

when distress and anguish come upon you.

28 Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;

they will seek me diligently but will not find me.

29 Because they hated knowledge

and did not choose the fear of the Lord,

30 would have none of my counsel

and despised all my reproof,

31 therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way,

and have their fill of their own devices.

32 For the simple are killed by their turning away,

and the complacency of fools destroys them;

33 but whoever listens to me will dwell secure

and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.”

Proverbs 12

15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,

but a wise man listens to advice.

Proverbs 18

2 A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,

but only in expressing his opinion.

Proverbs 26

11 Like a dog that returns to his vomit

is a fool who repeats his folly.

Proverbs 28

26 Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool,

but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.

The Theology of Work

November 10, 2024 • Raymond Harrison • Proverbs 6:6–11, Proverbs 12:11, Proverbs 21:5, Proverbs 21:25–26

QUOTES FOR REFLECTION “Imagine a society where no one had to work. Robots and artificial intelligence performed all essential jobs while advanced technologies provided unlimited clean energy, food, and consumer goods. Human beings were free to pursue their passions and spend time with loved ones instead of working. What would life look like in this futuristic work-free world? [...] For the first time in history, our jobs wouldn’t dictate how we spend our days.” ~Roy Lam, Data Scientist and Psychometrician, “What Life Would Look Like if Humans Didn’t Have to Work Anymore” “The image of God was never meant to yawn through life. Yet those who are paying attention will also see something more in this tragi-comic sloth: themselves. We all have an inner sluggard, counseling us to sleep when we should rise, rest when we should work, eat when we should move.” ~Scott Hubbard, pastor in Minneapolis, “The Sluggard in Me: Four Lies that Lead to Laziness” “The wise man knows that the sluggard is no freak, but, as often as not, an ordinary man who has made too many excuses, too many refusals, and too many postponements. It has all been as imperceptible, and as pleasant, as falling asleep.” ~Derek Kidner, Bible Commentator and Old Testament Scholar, Proverbs “In short, work – and lots of it – is an indispensable component in a meaningful human life. It is a supreme gift from God and one of the main things that gives our lives purpose. But it must play its proper role, subservient to God. It must regularly give way not just to work stoppage for bodily repair but also in joyful reception of the world and of ordinary life…. When we think, ‘I hate work!’ we should remember that, despite the fact that work can be a particularly potent reminder (and even amplifier) of the curse of sin on all things, it is not itself a curse. We were built for it and freed by it. But when we feel that our lives are completely absorbed by work, remember that we must honor work’s limits. There is no better starting point for a meaningful work life than a firm grasp of this balanced work and rest theology.” ~Tim Keller (1950-2023), pastor in New York, Every Good Endeavor SERMON PASSAGE Proverbs 6:6-11, 12:11, 21:5, 25-26 (ESV) Proverbs 6 6 Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. 7 Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, 8 she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. 9 How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? 10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, 11 and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man. Proverbs 12 11 Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense. Proverbs 21 5 The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty… 25 The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hands refuse to labor. 26 All day long he craves and craves, but the righteous gives and does not hold back. Exodus 20 8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Ephesians 2 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. John 5 3 In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. 5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” 9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath. 10 So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” 11 But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” 13 Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. 14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” 15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. 16 And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

Understanding and Overcoming the Sowing of Discord

November 3, 2024 • Don Willeman • Proverbs 6:12–19, Proverbs 10:11–12, Proverbs 12:13–23, Proverbs 17:9, Proverbs 19:9

QUOTES FOR REFLECTION “You create your story in consciousness as you interpret your own behavior, and as you listen to other people’s thoughts about you. The life story is not the work of a historian [...]; it is more like a work of historical fiction that makes plenty of references to real events and connects them by dramatizations and interpretations that might or might not be true to the spirit of what happened.” “The inner lawyer, the rose-colored mirror, naive realism, and the myth of pure evil—these mechanisms all conspire to weave for us a web of significance upon which angels and demons fight it out. Our ever-judging minds then give us constant flashes of approval and disapproval, along with the certainty that we are on the side of the angels. From this vantage point it all seems so silly, all this moralism, righteousness, and hypocrisy. It’s beyond silly; it is tragic, for it suggests that human beings will never achieve a state of lasting peace and harmony.” ~Jonathan Haidt, social psychologist at NYU, in The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom “People don’t get depressed when they face threats collectively; they get depressed when they feel isolated, lonely, or useless.” “In my 35 years of studying moral psychology, I have come to see this as one of humanity’s greatest problems: we are too quick to anger and too slow to forgive. We are also hypocrites who judge others harshly while automatically justifying our own bad behavior.” ~Jonathan Haidt, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Caused an Epidemic of Mental Illness “The Christian is righteous and a sinner at the same time, holy and profane, an enemy of God and a child of God. Only those who understand the true meaning of justification will understand this apparent paradox.” ~Martin Luther (1483-1546) in Second Lectures on Galatians “[Our] faith is not primarily a comfort, but a truth about ourselves.” ~Dorothy Sayers (1893-1957), English novelist and playwright “…what the heart loves, the will chooses, and the mind justifies.” ~Dr. John Ashley Null on Thomas Cranmer’s (1489-1556) understanding of psychology SERMON PASSAGE Selected Passages from Proverbs (ESV) Proverbs 6 12 A worthless person, a wicked man, goes about with crooked speech, 13 winks with his eyes, signals with his feet, points with his finger, 14 with perverted heart devises evil, continually sowing discord; 15 therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly; in a moment he will be broken beyond healing. 16 There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, 19 a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers. Proverbs 10 11 The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. 12 Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses. Proverbs 12 13 An evil man is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, but the righteous escapes from trouble. 14 From the fruit of his mouth a man is satisfied with good, and the work of a man’s hand comes back to him. 15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice. 16 The vexation of a fool is known at once, but the prudent ignores an insult. 17 Whoever speaks the truth gives honest evidence, but a false witness utters deceit. 18 There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. 19 Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment. 20 Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but those who plan peace have joy. 21 No ill befalls the righteous, but the wicked are filled with trouble. 22 Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight. 23 A prudent man conceals knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaims folly. Proverbs 17 9 Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends. Proverbs 19 9 A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will perish. Matthew 15:18-20 18 “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.” Exodus 20:16 16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Leviticus 19 17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” 1 John 4 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

The Heart of Wisdom: The Priority of the Heart

October 27, 2024 • Don Willeman • Proverbs 4:5–23, Proverbs 7:1–4, Proverbs 17:22, Proverbs 1:7, Proverbs 2:1–5

QUOTES FOR REFLECTION “The heart wants what it wants.” ~Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) in a letter written in 1862 “Ask yourself: if there is something you supremely want to do, do you count as self-sacrifice the difficulties encountered or the other possible activities cast aside? You do not. The time when you deliberately say, ‘I must sacrifice this, that, or the other’ is when you do not supremely desire the end in view. At such times you are doing your duty, and that is admirable, but it is not love. But as soon as your duty becomes your love, the self-sacrifice is taken for granted, and, whatever the world calls it, you call it so no longer.” ~Dorothy L. Sayers (1893-1957), novelist and playwright (emphasis added) “…the heart loves, the will chooses, and the mind justifies. The mind doesn’t direct the will. The mind is actually captive to what the will wants, and the will itself, in turn, is captive to what the heart wants. “The trouble with human nature is that we are born with a heart that loves ourselves over and above everything else in this world, including God. In short, we are born slaves to the lust for self-gratification, i.e., concupiscence. That’s why, if left to ourselves, we will always love those things that make us feel good about ourselves, even as we depart more and more from God and his ways. Therefore, God must intervene in our lives in order to bring salvation… “Now, in effect, [God’s work of] justification gives us a heart transplant. For at the same time that we receive the gift of justifying faith by which we are credited with Christ’s extrinsic righteousness, God also sheds abroad in our hearts a new love for him and one another. This new heart love for him, from him, naturally redirects our wills…. “[R]eason is not king in human beings, the heart is. Therefore, to change your actions, you must change your desires. But your desires will change, only if the Holy Spirit who wrote the Bible also writes his laws on your heart.” ~Dr. John Ashley Null, Anglican scholar at the University of Berlin (Humboldt) “The heart’s desire for an ultimate object may be conquered, but it’s desire to have some object is unconquerable. The only way to dispossess the heart of an old affection is through the expulsive power of a new one.” ~Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847), Scottish minister, professor, and reformer SERMON PASSAGE The Heart of Wisdom: The Priority of the Heart Selected Passages from Proverbs (ESV) Proverbs 1 7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 2 1 My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, 2 making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; 3 yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, 4 if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, 5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. Proverbs 4 5 Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth. 6 Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; love her, and she will guard you. 7 The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight. 8 Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her… 20 My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. 21 Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. 22 For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. 23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. 24 Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. 25 Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. 26 Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. 27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil. Proverbs 7 1 My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you; 2 keep my commandments and live; keep my teaching as the apple of your eye; 3 bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and call insight your intimate friend Proverb 13 12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life. Proverbs 17 22 A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 21 2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart. Proverbs 27 19 As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man.