Friday, October 7, 2011

Wisdom ………….Foolishness……..

You're familiar with the command to the ancients, 'Do not murder.'  I'm telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother 'idiot!' and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell 'stupid!' at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire.  The simple moral fact is that words kill”.  Matt. 5:21-22  MSG Bible

In the Sermon on the Mount, of which these verses are a part of, Jesus was attempting to show that He did not come to reduce the requirements of the Law, but to reinforce them so that they would be interpreted even more strictly than was common in Israel. 

Not only was it sinful to commit murder (Matt. 5:21), but it was wrong to be angry with a brother because anger may lead to murder, just as lust may lead to immorality (Matt. 5:27-30).  

To call a brother a fool is to declare him to be worthless.   To conclude that one is worthless, then, is to come to the conclusion that the world would best be rid of him, which is but one short step from murder.   Jesus did NOT condemn the assessment of a person’s character, but the assassination of one’s character.

Just as Jesus did not forbid us from discerning the character of fools, the Book of Proverbs commends this assessment as a necessity for those who would be wise. 

Several reasons are given for the need to discern between those who are fools and those who are wise.

To associate with fools is both unwise and unpleasant.  To some degree folly is contagious and association with a fool tends to diminish our ability to discern the truth from error and wisdom from foolishness.

“Go from the presence of a foolish and self-confident man, for you will not find knowledge on his lips”.   Prov. 14:7 AMP

A fool is bound for his own destruction and he will inevitable destroy everything in his path.  Those who get in the way of the fool will get hurt!

“It is safer to meet a bear robbed of her cubs
than to confront a fool caught in foolishness”.   Prov. 17:12 NLT

“Throw out the mocker, and fighting goes, too.
Quarrels and insults will disappear”.  Prov. 22:10 NLT

No comments:

Post a Comment