Day 257: Self destruct buttons - Proverbs 14 vs 1 – 7

1 The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands. 2 One who walks in his uprightness fears the Lord, but one who is devious in his ways despises Him. 3 In the mouth of the foolish is a rod for his back, but the lips of the wise will protect them. 4 Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean; but much revenue comes by the strength of the ox. 5 A trustworthy witness will not lie, but a false witness declares lies. 6-7 A scoffer seeks wisdom and finds none, but knowledge is easy for one who has understanding. Leave the  presence of a fool, or you will not discern words of knowledge. Proverbs 14:1-7 (New American Standard Version)

Did you notice anything common to the three sad results described in verses 1, 3 and 4?

Verse 1 spoke of a broken house, verse 3 of being beaten with a rod, and verse 4 of no food in the barn (or the fridge and pantry). And the common thing that struck me is that the people had all brought the sad situation on themselves. That was particularly true of the person whose mouth got them into trouble. (vs 3) Another translation paraphrases it as: “A fool’s proud talk becomes a rod that beats him, but the words of the wise keep them safe.” We sometimes say that something a person says or does will 'come back to bite them'. Rash and foolish words often do that.

We’re not told how or why the foolish woman tore down a hose with her own hands, but the verse is probably thinking of a household rather than the physical building. That's why the Good News Bible paraphrases it as: “Homes are made by the wisdom of women, but are destroyed by foolishness.” I like that because it brings out the tremendous role of wives and mothers in building a stable home environment. Sadly, if a woman behaves foolishly they can just as easily spoil the home. That applies to husbands and fathers as well. How was the damage done by the person in vs 4?

The implication is of someone to lazy to own oxen because of the hard work involved raking and keeping the stall clean. Yes, it can be a mucky job – but it was through oxen that more fields could be ploughed and money made. There's a saying in Yorkshire that 'where there's muck there's brass'. Those willing to get their hands dirty are likely to make more money than lazy people.

So the point is that the people described in those verses had brought trouble on themselves. They had self-destructed. That's what ignoring God's wisdom and allowing sin freedom in our lives inevitably does. Verse 2 spoke of people who despised God and the integrity His word brings into our lives, and vs 6 & 7 spoke of hanging around with others who scoff at the Bible. The result was to destroy their own lives. When they look for answers they can't find any.

I can understand why the apostle Paul gave a warning many years later about the self destruction that can come because of greed. He wrote: “People who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.” (1 Timothy 6:9-10)

It's human nature to blame other people if our life is in a mess. One of life’s most painful events is realizing that we brought on ourselves most of the things that cause us grief. Whether it was the company we chose, laziness, rash words and unwise decisions, they all contributed to regrets we end up with. But the good news is that if we realize and accept we had disobeyed God and rejected His wisdom, we can do what the man did in the parable Jesus told of a son who'd gone off the rails and ended up in misery. “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! I will go home to my father and say, 'Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you.'” Repentance is the road to recovery for lives that self destructed.