My folly that won’t be removed
[Proverbs 27:20-27]
I have been suffering from athlete's foot from few months ago. Although I met a doctor and got a prescription for medicine, and applied the medicine on my foot, it didn’t go away and spread to the left toes this time. Then, few weeks ago, the skin on the outer heel of the same foot was cracked. I thought it was athlete's foot and used the same athlete's foot medicine. But my wife saw and told me that it wasn't athlete's foot. She said that the skin was cracked due to lot of dead skin cells, and that I had to soak my feet in hot water in order to remove them. So the next day after work out, I soaked my feet in hot water after exercise as my wife told me. And after a while, I tried to remove the dead skin off my left heel while doing shower. But it didn’t go that well. I think that's because I didn’t scrub off dirt and dead skin cell on my heels for a long time and thus it's hardened a lot.
Likewise, I try to self-reflect if my heart and conscience are hardened a lot. I certainly believe that God didn’t leave my stubborn and hardened heart alone, but gave me a new heart in Jesus Christ (Ezek. 36:26). God removed from me my heart of stone and gave me a heart of flesh (v. 26; 11:19). However, the problem is that I have neglected to manage my heart, so there is a lot of folly in my heart. That is why I am sinning against God by violating His word. Instead of redeeming time by being wise (Col. 4:5), I am acting very foolishly and wasting time (1 Chron. 21:8). Personally, even though I want to get rid of my folly that God reveals and live wisely in this world with God's wisdom, it doesn't work that well. As if the dirt and dead skin cell doesn't come off my heels, I'm not getting rid of my folly.
If we look at Proverbs 27:22, the Bible says, “Though you grind a fool in a mortar, grinding him like grain with a pestle, you will not remove his folly from him.” What does it mean? The memory I have when I was a child was a woman putting grains in a large mortar and smashed it with the wooden pestles that look like a little bat. When I saw it first time, I didn't know why she was doing that. The think I learned later was that it was to separate the husks from the grains or crush the grains to make them into fine powder (Internet). After all, the purpose of the putting grains in the large mortar and smashing them with the wooden pestles is to separate the grains from the shell. When the grains are put in the large mortar and pounded, the grains in it are separated from the grain and the shell. People then sift the grains and husks to blow away the husks and sift the grains (Internet). By the way, in Proverbs 27:22, the Proverbs writer says, “Though you grind a fool in a mortar, grinding him like grain with a pestle, you will not remove his folly from him.” This means that it is very difficult to get rid of the folly of a fool. So, I would like to meditate on Proverbs 27:20-24, under the heading “My folly that won’t be removed”. At the same time, I would like to share my 4 follies as I reflect myself on the word of God and receive the 4 lessons of God's wisdom. I hope and pray that you, like me, reflect on yourself to the word of God, realize your own folly, understand and obey the instruction of God's wisdom in repentance, so that you will be raised up as wise Christians.
First, my folly is my eyes without contentment.
Look at Proverbs 27:20 – “Death and Destruction are never satisfied, and neither are the eyes of man.” What about you if your eyes were no longer visible? What if we become blind? I've actually thought about this again and again. One of the reason I came to think ‘If I become a blind person ... ‘ is because when I go to the restaurant to buy lunch, I often see blind people walk with canes in their hands, maybe because there is a blind institution near our church. Whenever I look at them, I think how frustrating it will be because they can't see. So when I think about what would happen if I couldn't see with my eyes like them, I'm honestly afraid. Another reason is because of “the lust of his eyes”. Look at 1 John 2:16 – “For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world.” Looking at this word, one of the things that came from the world is the lust of the eyes. Because of the lust of the eyes, I used to think that if I became a blind person, I would no longer be able to have lust of the eyes.
When you think about the lust of the eyes, who comes to your mind among the characters in the Bible? I first think of Eve, the first woman of mankind in Genesis 3. When she saw the fruit of a tree that is in the middle of the garden of Eden, being deceived by a serpent, it was “good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and also desirable for gaining wisdom” (v. 6). She shouldn't have seen the tree, but she was tempted by the serpent to see the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and that tree was pleasing to her eyes. Eventually, driven by the lust of the eye, she ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and gave the fruit to Adam, her husband, who was with her (v. 6). When it comes to the lust of the eyes, the second person that comes to mind is David. One evening, when David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace, he “saw” a woman Bath-sheba bathing and the Bible says “The woman was very beautiful” (2 Sam. 11:2). Eventually, David, driven by the lust of the eye, brought Bath-sheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite (v. 3), to him and slept with her (v. 4). And when she said that she was pregnant (v. 5), David made her husband Uriah come from the battlefield and made him go down to his house to sleep with Bathsheba in order to make it look like the baby was the couple’s baby (vv. 6-13). However, since this attempt wasn’t working, David eventually wrote a letter to Joab and sent Uriah to the battlefield and killed Uriah (vv. 14-17). The Bible says that what David did was “was evil in the sight of the Lord” (v. 27).
In the New Testament Matthew 5:27-28, Jesus said: “You have heard that it was said, ’Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Jesus said that anyone who has lust and sees a woman (whoever looks at a woman with the lust of the eyes) has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Can't you imagine? If you look at a woman with the lust of your eyes since she looks so beautiful, then you have already committed adultery with her in your heart. I think this doesn't necessarily apply only to man. If a woman also looked at a handsome man with the lust of her eyes, then she has already committed adultery with him in her heart. One day, I thought about the reason why people have an affair based on the words of Ecclesiastes 7:7. The reason is “greed”. In Exodus 20:17, the tenth commandment of Moses is written: “You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” God has commanded us not to covet our “neighbor's wife”. Why do we covet? The reason is the greed within us. If there is greed within us, we don’t always feel satisfied with our wife (Prov. 5:19). Not only that, we begin to covet another woman. So, driven by the lust of the eye, we look at a woman other than our wife. And our ears start to hear about her. But our eyes cannot be satisfied no matter how many women we see. Look at Ecclesiastes 1:8 – “All things are wearisome; Man is not able to tell it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor is the ear filled with hearing.” That is why Satan entices us by fleshly desires, by sensuality, causing us to sin (2 Pet. 2:18). Satan makes us covet another woman and sin against God.
Greed is the cause of our infidelity. Greed doesn’t know how to be satisfied (Isa. 56:11). Hence, greed makes us not to be satisfied with our wife (Prov. 5:19) and makes us covet our neighbor's wife (Ex. 29:17). Therefore, our hearts should not be directed toward greed (Ps. 119:36). The Bible says that greed is idolatry (Col. 3:5). Therefore, we must be guard against all kinds of greed (Lk. 12:15). Pastor Lloyd Jones said in his book "Darkness and Light," about the ‘eye problem’: ‘Your eyes are the problem. When you see something, the mind follows it. … If there is anything that makes you tempted, don't look at it! ... Don't let your eyes covet anything. Don't let go of looking straight ahead. ... Make a covenant with your eyes and look straight ahead. Pay attention only to the direction God directs, holiness and heaven’ (Jones). The Bible Job 31:1 says: “"I have made a covenant with my eyes; How then could I gaze at a virgin?” We must make a covenant with our eyes. We must make a pledge that we will no longer see other woman/man with the lust of our eyes. And while seeking God's grace and help, we must commit ourselves to not looking at other opposite sex with the lust of our eyes and put them into practice, according to the promise we have made. Otherwise, we will never stop sinning adultery (2 Pet. 2:14) with unsatisfied eyes (Prov. 27:20) and the lust of our eyes (1 Jn. 2:16) (2 Peter 2:14).
If our folly is our unsatisfied eye, we must confess this folly to God and repent. And we must fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (Heb. 12:2). Then we will be able to overcome the unsatisfied lust of the eyes. The reason is because we will be satisfied just looking at Jesus.
Second, my folly is to like people’s praise.
Do you know the meaning ‘praise makes a whale dance too’? Through one of Ken Blanchard’s book that has once become a bestseller has attracted many people's attention to praises. The reason is because they learned the power of praise and its need (Internet). This book was written by a sale executive named Wes Kingsley, who was struggling with relationships at home and at work, went on a business trip to Florida to watch a great show of killer whales at the Sea World Marine Center. And he went to a trainer to learn how he trained a killer whale weighing more than 3 tons. It is a story that by listening to the training secret and applying it to one's own family and company, he was able to achieve family harmony and target sales performance wonderfully. Here, Wes Kingsley learned through the killer whale trainer, Dave, that a relationship with a killer whale is no different from a human relationship, and that the secret to making a great show is positive attention, praise, and encouragement for the other person. It is that positive attention, praise, and encouragement are important to everyone in a relationship (Internet).
No one would hate to be praised. To that extent, our human beings' basic disposition is, as William James, who is called the founder of modern psychology, has a desire to be recognized by others (Internet). In one survey, when asked 'when is the most happy time at work?', 45% of them answered 'when they are praised' (Internet), unless, of course, the praise is excessive and it doesn't sound like flattery. But the funny thing is that the our instinct is that even though the praise sounds like flattery to our ears, we don't feel bad, but rather seem to like it subtly. That kind of compliment seems to make us feel good.
I personally think of two things when I think of the word “praise”. First, I think I shouldn't be stingy with praising others. Second, it is Proverbs 27:21 – “The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but man is tested by the praise he receives.” What does it mean? It means that like crucibles is for silver and the furnace for gold, a tool for testing people is praise. Here, the Hebrew meaning of the word “praise” can be interpreted in two ways (Internet): (1) One can be interpreted as a criterion for evaluating a person's qualities. For example, in 1 Samuel 18:6-7, Israeli women praise David, saying, "Saul has slained his thousands, and David his tens of thousands" when they saw King Saul and his companions were returning after David killed the Philistine. This was the women's compliment that David was more capable of war than Saul. In this way, praise is acknowledging that the person being praised is of superior ability or quality. (2) Another possible interpretation of the word “praise” is that praise is a test tool to find out what a person is. When a person is praised, looking at the person's attitude can help you understand that person is who he is A person who likes to show off, for example, will try to hear praise. I think it might not be good for people to continue to praise such person. The reason is because when the person is hungry for praise and striving to be praised, even a word of loving rebuke can be greatly hurt and disappointed and put to the test. The Bible Proverbs 27:2 says, “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; A stranger, and not your own lips.” The lesson we learned from this passage is to avoid praising ourselves that is self-praise.
I think Proverbs 27:21, the second half of the word “but man is tested by the praise he receives” is important. The reason is because I think we are very weak in praise. Especially when we are praised by other people for serving the Lord’s church, we feel good and happy. But there may be plenty of danger (temptation) for us to attribute it to ourselves rather than to glorify God. Also, because of the praise of the congregation, if we are conditioned to praise without our knowledge, there is a danger of serving the Lord’s church to receive praise from people rather than to receive praise from the Lord. We should prefer to be praised by the Lord rather than to be praised by others. One day, the time will come for all of us to stand before the Lord to settle account. At that time, should we not be praised by the Lord as “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Mt. 18:23, 24; 25:14-30)? In order to do so, what should we do? We must be the faithful and wise servants (24:45). Who, then, is the faithful and wise servant? I thought about it three ways:
(1) We must be truthful.
We must live the life of a truthful steward (Lk. 12:42) with a truthful heart (2 Pet. 3:1) and truthful lips (Prov. 12:19). In addition, we must be faithful servants of the Lord and faithfully keep the responsibilities that the Lord has commanded us to. When we do so, the Lord will praise us (Josh. 22:3).
(2) We must go immediately and use the talents we have received from the Lord and bear fruit.
Look at Matthew 25:16-17: “Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more.” When I think of “fruit”, I think of the “good fruit” Jesus said in Matthew 7:17-19. I thought of this good fruit in three ways: (1) The good fruit is eternal life (v. 14). In other words, the good fruit we bear is entering the kingdom of heaven (v. 21). (b) The good fruit we bear as disciples of Jesus is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Look at Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Of these fruits of the Holy Spirit, especially Jesus' disciples bear abundantly fruits of love by obeying Jesus’ twofold commandment, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself” (Lk. 10:27) and live a heavenly life. (c) The good fruit we bear is good deeds. Look at Ephesians 2:8-10: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
(3) We must be like the five wise virgins (Mt. 25:4, 8. 9, 13) preparing for the Second Coming of the Lord.
We must become those who say, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus” to the word of Jesus “Yes, I am coming soon” (Rev. 22:20).
Third, my folly is being lazy and is not work diligently.
What, in your opinion, was a very important property for the nomads like the Israelites? Perhaps it was the livestock they owned (for example, herds of sheep and cattle). So, above all else, they would have been diligent in caring for their own sheep or herds. That was their responsibility. So the nomads always took their livestock in mind and took care of them diligently. A good example is Jacob in Genesis 30. He escaped from his brother Esau, stayed at his uncle Laban’s house, and took care of Laban's livestock (Gen. 30:29). As a result, Laban's possessions, which were little before Jacob’s arrival, had increased greatly after Jacob came (v. 30).
Look at Proverbs 27:23 – “Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds.” What does it mean? According to Dr. Yoon-sun Park, it is a recommendation that people should not live by relying on wealth and power, but to earn a living by diligently engaging in their own business (Park). What was the reason when the Proverb writer said this to the Israelites, who were in the livestock farming, which was common at hi time? Why did the Proverbs writer tell them not to live on wealth and power, but to earn a living by diligently engaging in their own business? The reason is because in verse 24, the Proverbs reporter said “for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations.” In other words, the reason is because the wealth and honor doesn’t exist forever, but disappears after a while. Therefore, the Bible tells us not to live by relying on wealth and honor, but to work diligently in our own work.
As I meditated on this word, I remembered 2 Thessalonians 3:10 – “For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat.” Do you know why the apostle Paul taught the members of the Thessalonica church this way? The reason is because some of the church members were lazy and hated to work. The problem was because they didn’t work at all, but rather they were idle, weren’t busy but busybodies (v. 11). The reason they didn’t work with their hands and were idle and busybodies was because they had a wrong eschatology. In other words, those of the Thessalonica church members who didn’t work with their hands were because they had a perverse eschatology of the Second Coming of Jesus. So Paul exhorted them: “We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat.”
There are many lessons about laziness in the Book of Proverbs we have already meditated on. One of them is Proverbs 26:15 – “The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.” Another Bible verse is Proverbs 21:25 – “The sluggard's craving will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work.” What does it mean? It means that the lazy people hate to work with their hands. So, in Proverbs 13:4, the Bible says, “The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.” That means he wants in his heart, but he doesn't get what he wants because he is lazy and doesn’t use his hands. The lazy person not only doesn’t roast his game (12:27), but also buries his hand in the dish and will not even bring it back to his mouth (19:24; 26:15). Isn't it funny? If we want to eat meat, we have to hunt and catch an animal. Isn’t it funny that we want meat only with our hearts but don’t actually hunt the animal? Also, who is hungry and struggles to put his hand in the dish and raise it with his mouth? Then, like a baby, should someone feed us with a spoon? I think this is the culmination of laziness. I really think this is the extreme laziness that we put our hands in the dish but struggle to raise the spoon to our mouths even though we want to eat the food. Regarding these lazy people, the Bible Proverbs 19:15 says that they are “an idle man,” that is, a person who is idle and playing. In short, the lazy person hates working with his hand (21:25). As a result, poverty is inevitable for the lazy, but it comes on him like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man (24:34) (MacArthur).
If we have this kind of laziness, the lesson of Proverbs 27:23 is that we must remove this folly and work diligently and faithfully. What do farmers think and sow when they sow seeds in spring? Obviously, the farmer will think about the harvest season in the fall and diligently sow the seeds in spring. The reason why farmers sow seeds in spring, work diligently, and labor is because they eagerly expect to bear the fruit of grain (Ref.: 2 Tim. 2:6; Jam. 5:7). With this farmer's mind and attitude, we must diligently do the work that will be entrusted to each of us. Also, we have to work hard like laborers. We must sweat and work hard. Do you know what kind of consequences are the result of this according to Proverbs 27:25-27? We can think in 3 ways: (1) Look at verse 25: “When the hay is removed and new growth appears and the grass from the hills is gathered in.” When we work diligently and hard, there will be new growth for us, as if after weed, there would be new growth (v. 25). Not only that, we will also reap the fruits of our hard work, just as “new growth appears and the grass from the hills is gathered in” (v. 25). (2) Look at verse 26: “the lambs will provide you with clothing, and the goats with the price of a field.” As if the lambs will provide us with clothing, if we labor diligently, there will be things that are provided to us for our work, and as “the goats with the price of a field”, we will be able to buy a building or land or to invest with our earned money as the fruit of our labor (v. 26). (3) Look at verse 27: “You will have plenty of goats' milk to feed you and your family and to nourish your servant girls.” As if there is plenty of goats’ milk to feed all family members, there will be abundance in our house when we diligently do our work hard. In this way, the reason God makes us to have all that we need in all things at all times is because so that we will abound in every good work (2 Cor. 9:8). Then, because God has made us rich in every way we can be generous on every occasion (v. 11).
Fourth and last, my folly is to love riches that are not eternal.
There are three things I value when it comes to “riches”:
(1) I cannot forget Deuteronomy 8:17-18: “You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me. But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.”
Moses was concerned that when the Israelites entered into Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey, and lived in abundance, they would forget their God of salvation who led them in the wilderness and they would think that their own power and the strength of their hands had produced their wealth. That was why Moses told the Israelites, “remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth” (v.18). We must believe that God gives us the power to obtain riches. We must keep in mind that we do not acquire riches by our own power and the strength of our hands. Only when God gives us the power to obtain riches, we can earn riches and enjoy abundant life. And when we enjoy the abundance through God's grace, we must look forward to and yearn for Heaven, a more and more truly abundant country. When we enjoy abundance, we should never mistake this world for our home. We must enjoy the blessings of God in this world while looking to a better home (v. 16).
(2) I think when it comes to “riches,” we should not rely on the abundance of riches.
Rather, we must rely on God's love. The reason is because wealth will be gone, but God's love will last forever (Ps. 52:1, 7, 8).
(3) I think it is better to lose riches than to lose health (Eccl. 5:13, 14), and it is much better to regain spiritual riches (faith) by losing riches.
If we lose our faith because of riches, wouldn't it be better to repent and return to practice our spiritual life right after we lost our riches?
Look at Proverbs 27:24 – “for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations.” The Bible says that riches don’t last forever. What does it mean? It means that riches and honor will disappear after a while. It seems that we are living in an era of values confusion. Now people don’t know what’s worth and what’s important. Even we Christians are in a confusion of values. Now we are living a life of faith without discerning what is more valuable. “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward” (Heb. 11:24-26). However, we value the world's riches and glories more than the suffering we receive for Christ. And we think that it is better to enjoy the pleasures of the sins of the world than to suffer with the saints. So, our lips cry out for suffering for Jesus and His gospel, but our hearts want the success and riches of the world. And we prefer the path of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the broad path of Egypt than the path of Golgotha, where the Lord went. This is confusion of values. Our confusing of values is giving our children a confusing message. From their point of view, it is clear that their parents go to church and live a spiritual life. But the words their parents shout out to them from their parents' mouths are the world's success, happiness, and riches. We shouldn't be like this anymore. We must first have the right biblical values and live the right spiritual life. And we must have eternal values and be able to reject the momentary things.
If we look at the Bible, I think King Solomon is the one who enjoyed riches and honor more than anyone else in this world. But the Bible Psalms 127:1 says, “Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.” It is a meaningful confession that King Solomon, who built the temple in Jerusalem (2 Chron. 2:1-5:1), said that as a person with experience in building the temple, the labor of the builder is in vain unless the Lord builds the house. King Solomon said, “Unless the Lord build the house… "", and "the house" here refers to "the temple." In other words, unless the Lord builds the temple, the labor of those who build it is in vain. King Solomon not only built the temple in Jerusalem, but also ruled the nation of Israel wisely and well. The reason he didn’t ask God for riches and honor but for wisdom was to rule God's people well. Therefore, God gave him not only wisdom, but riches and honor. Would you ask God for “riches” or “wisdom”? From Proverbs 8:10-11, we learned that God's wisdom is far better than gold, silver, or pearls. In other words, when we hear the voice of God's wisdom and gain God's admonition and knowledge, we also gain the ability to earn riches. That’s why the wisdom of God is more valuable than the riches. Look at Proverbs 8:18-19: “With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity. My fruit is better than fine gold; what I yield surpasses choice silver.” What does it mean? King Solomon says that those who have wisdom have riches and honor.
We must love wisdom. And we must earnestly seek wisdom. Look at Proverbs 8:17 – “I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.” King Solomon exhorts us to be “those who love me” (v. 21), that is the ones who love wisdom. The reason is because when we love wisdom, we will be clothed with the love of wisdom. What does it mean that we will be clothed with the love of wisdom? It means that wisdom gives us all these blessings when we love wisdom, just as God gave us riches that King Solomon didn't even ask for when he asked for wisdom that was pleasing to God. Therefore, King Solomon urges us to earnestly seek wisdom. We should no longer foolishly love riches that aren’t eternal. Riches will be gone. We must not put our hope in wealth which is so uncertain but to put our hope in God. The reason is because God richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment (1 Tim. 6:17).