Wise and Fool

Wisdom is skillful living, not a comprehension of knowledge. People joke: “Knowledge is knowing tomatoes are fruit, but wisdom is not putting them in a fruit salad.” Proverbs, when appropriately applied, make the wise wiser and the fools foolish.

Proverbs 11 contains a collection of proverbs contrasting the wise with the fool. A wise uses accurate weights not to deceive customers, but a fool uses dishonest scales (v. 1). A wise person stays humble, but a foolish person puffs up in pride and comes to disgrace (v. 2). The wise keep secrets, but the fools blabber, gossip, and betray confidence (v. 13). After listing all these wise and foolish actions, the teacher summarizes:

“If the just person rarely escapes [this world’s difficulties], how will the ungodly and sinners who manifest [their foolishness]?” (Prov 11:31)

An honest shopkeeper who uses accurate weights barely escapes this world’s difficulties. For example, his/her customers might grumble at them and insult them, but they can’t accuse him/her of cheating them, and s/he escapes the accusation of unjust. But a dishonest shopkeeper will face much more insults for injustice, false scales, and the high price of the merchandise.

Peter had been challenging his audience that if they must suffer, it must be for doing righteous acts, not unrighteous (1 Pet 4:12–19). If they were to suffer for doing wrongs, then they weren’t persecuted for Christ’s sake and as Christians. They were punished for doing wrong. In this context, he quoted Proverbs 11:31 to say that life was difficult for honest people; how much more difficult will life be for those who do wrong? (1 Pet 4:17–18). He concluded by saying,

“Therefore, those who are suffering according to God’s will and in doing good must entrust their souls to the faithful Creator.” (1 Pet 4:19)

If they were doing good and suffering innocently, their sufferings were according to God’s will. They weren’t suffering for doing wrong, and the persecutors weren’t right. They were suffering innocently. In such circumstances, they were to entrust themselves to the faithful Creator, who could deliver them if he wished.

Jesus Christ was the best example. He didn’t suffer because he was unrighteous, sinful, or an evildoer. Instead, he was innocent, righteous, and good. He suffered because God willed it for him to suffer. Similarly, Peter’s audiences were to suffer for doing the right things, not wrong things. When they suffered innocently, all they could do was trust God’s goodness and wait for him to deliver them.

If we are to speed on a highway and receive a fine, it is not righteous persecution or suffering. It is the payment for breaking the law of the land. If, on the other hand, we are going below the speed limit, and someone falsely accuses us of speeding and fines us, then we are to entrust ourselves to the faithful Creator. He is faithful because his justice is fair and unbiased, not because he would automatically deliver us. He could choose to deliver or let us endure the sufferings to purify us. When difficulties come to us, we must ask: “Did I cause this to myself by my wrong actions?” If yes, we can’t blame anyone, including God. It’s self-inflicted suffering. But if we are innocent and punished wrongly, we entrust ourselves to God’s mercy, grace, and deliverance.