"Because people are foolish."

(Proverbs 19:2-3, 5)

"

Have you ever met a foolish person? If we refer to Proverbs 17:12, which we have already meditated on, the Bible says: 'It is better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool in his folly.' Who is this foolish person? An internet website says the following: 'A foolish and ignorant person causes more trouble than a fierce bear. A person who is ignorant and stubbornly unaware of their own ignorance can even make life difficult for knowledgeable individuals. Additionally, such a person is self-centered and lacks consideration for others. Therefore, a foolish person can be as cruel and destructive as dynamite, and once they decide on something, no one can stop them. To avoid danger, we must avoid foolish people.'

Now, in today’s passage, Proverbs 19:3 says, 'People's foolishness ruins their ways, and their hearts resent the Lord.' Based on this, under the title 'Because of people's foolishness,' we will reflect on three sins of a foolish person and the lessons God wants to teach us.

First, the sin of the foolish person is acting hastily and recklessly with zeal but without knowledge.

Look at Proverbs 19:2: 'Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses the way.' In the original Hebrew, this reads: 'Also, it is not good for the soul to be without knowledge, and the one who makes haste sins.' This 'desire without knowledge,' or zeal without knowledge, refers to a lack of understanding in the soul. The verse, 'whoever makes haste with his feet misses the way,' means that acting hastily and recklessly leads to sin.

A typical example of this is Saul, before he became the Apostle Paul. Before meeting the risen Christ, Saul was fervent in his zeal for God, but without the knowledge of Jesus Christ, he persecuted the followers of Christ. Another example is found in Romans 10:2: 'For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.' Paul refers to the Israelites, who, despite having a zeal for God, did not know Jesus as the Messiah and thought they could achieve salvation through the law instead of faith in Christ.

This shows the danger of zeal without knowledge of Christ. Without a growing understanding of Jesus Christ, our zeal can turn into self-righteousness, which leads to pride. And pride leads us to act recklessly and speak hastily, resulting in sin before God.

A clear example of this is Saul, the first king of Israel. He was proud, acted hastily, and sinned by offering a burnt offering without waiting for Samuel, which led to his downfall (1 Samuel 13:12). Charles Bridges, a 19th-century theologian, pointed out five misfortunes that befall a soul lacking spiritual knowledge:

1. A soul without spiritual knowledge doesn't know how to live properly—it lives for itself rather than for God.

2. A soul without spiritual knowledge doesn't understand how to deal with sin—it doesn't know about the atonement of Christ, repentance, or faith.

3. A soul without spiritual knowledge doesn’t know where to turn for help in times of trouble—it doesn’t recognize that suffering can be a means of growing closer to God.

4. A soul without spiritual knowledge doesn’t know the true strength of responsibility—it relies only on its own strength and fails to recognize that true strength is found in God.

5. A soul without spiritual knowledge doesn’t know true hope—it lives in uncertainty and doesn't trust in the faithfulness of God’s promises."

Secondly, the sin of the foolish person is to commit wrongdoings and then blame God.

Let’s look at Proverbs 19:3: "The foolishness of man perverts his way, and his heart frets against the Lord." The original Hebrew of this verse can be translated as: "The foolishness of man subverts (overturns) his way, and his heart is enraged against the Lord" (Park Yun-seon). Our sinful instinct is that when we make wrong choices and face the painful consequences of those choices, we do not take responsibility for our actions, but instead, we blame God. This sinful instinct was passed down to us from the first man, Adam, in Genesis 3. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God's command and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God called out to Adam (Genesis 3:9). At that time, Adam, hiding in fear (Genesis 3:10), said to God: "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate" (Genesis 3:12). Adam, after sinning, blamed God, saying, "The woman whom You gave me..." This was, in essence, blaming God for giving him the woman. Blaming God in this way is a terrible sin, as it is a dispute with the omniscient and omnipotent God (Isaiah 45:9) (Park Yun-seon).

When we think of "complaining," doesn’t the image of the Israelites during the Exodus come to mind? They complained to Moses saying, "What shall we drink?" (Exodus 15:24), and they went even further to complain against God (Numbers 14:27). At that time, God responded in Numbers 14:27: "How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who murmur against Me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel which they murmur against Me." The Israelites, who were complaining against God, did not listen to His voice (Psalm 106:25). In other words, they disobeyed God's word. As a result, God was angry with them (Numbers 11:1) and disciplined them (Numbers 21). The apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:10: "Nor let us complain, as some of them complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer." Why do we complain? Why do we complain not only about people, but even against God? I found the answer in Jude 1:16: "These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage." The reason we complain is because we are dissatisfied. And the reason we are dissatisfied is because we do not trust God. As a result, we commit the sin of complaining against God and the sin of disobeying His commandments. We must obey God's commandments. To do that, we must trust God. And we must be satisfied with God alone. When we do this, we will walk in the right path that the Lord desires, as we obey His commandments. And as we walk in the right path, we will not commit the sin of complaining against God.

Thirdly, the sin of the foolish person is lying.

Let’s look at today’s passage, Proverbs 19:5: "A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who speaks lies will not escape." The original Hebrew of this verse translates as follows: "A witness of lies will not escape punishment, and one who spews lies will not receive salvation" (Park Yun-seon). Here, "a witness of lies" or "one who spews lies" refers to those who lie without any sign of repentance. These are people who have missed the opportunity to repent for a long time (Romans 2:4), and now they lie without feeling any guilt in their conscience (Park Yun-seon). Therefore, the Bible says that not only will these people not receive salvation, but they will also not escape punishment (verses 5 and 9). Furthermore, Proverbs 19:9b says, "The one who utters lies will perish."

In Proverbs 14:25, the Bible says, "A false witness is deceitful." Those who deceive others without feeling any remorse in their conscience are detestable to God, as stated in Psalm 5:6. And in Proverbs 13:5, it says, "The righteous hate lies." Therefore, we should not lie to one another. Lying is the behavior of the old self. We must put off that behavior (Colossians 3:9).

Friends, we should not become people who spew lies. Instead, we should be truthful witnesses (Proverbs 14:25). We should be faithful witnesses and not lie (verse 5). Instead, we should speak the truth (12:17) and save lives (14:25). We must keep in mind Proverbs 12:19: "Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only for a moment."

In conclusion, today we have reflected on three sins of the foolish person. The sin of the foolish person is acting hastily and recklessly with zeal but without knowledge, committing sins and then blaming God, and telling lies. My prayer is that with the wisdom God gives us, we will act with a zealous knowledge, cautiously, never blaming God, and speak the truth as faithful witnesses. May you and I be people who walk in the truth, living according to the wisdom God has granted us.