The simple believes everything,
But the prudent gives thought to his steps.
One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil,
But a fool is reckless and careless.”
Proverbs 14:15, 16
We all have many choices and decisions that we make throughout our days. Many of these decisions that we make are made without much conscious thought. The choices that we make daily without conscious thought have become habits in our lives. There are many books written on developing good habits, but the basis of many of our choices are based on habit. My husband gets up for work at the same time every day, walks on the treadmill, takes a shower, has a glass of OJ, and heads to work. He no longer gives a lot of thought to these activities because they have become habits in his life.
We all know the people that have habits that we would consider reckless and careless: poor diet choices, poor entertainment choices, no exercise choice, poor relationship choices, etc.
Our verses from Proverbs today start and end with the simple and the fool. The simple person is someone who is gullible. They are easily led astray usually by their desires. They think that if the desires of their heart are met they will find peace, satisfaction, and happiness. They hope that the infomercial about the next great weight loss pill will solve all of their weight struggles. They believe anything that anyone tells them and think that what they are told will meet all their needs.
This simple, gullible person is easily led astray. They are taken advantage of often and those that are manipulators love this simple gullible person. The manipulator will have a follower in the simple. The simple will have someone who they think “cares” for them. Only too often, the manipulator is taking advantage of the simple.
In order to not be simple and not be gullible, we must seek to surround ourselves with those that are prudent and wise. We must consider the end result of the decision we are deciding to make. Will this thing that I buy actually give the promised results? If I eat this extra scoop of ice cream, am I making a healthy wise choice? If I spend time watching TV, playing this video game, or scrolling through social media am I using my time wisely when there are many chores that need to be done?
The prudent and the wise person thinks before acting and decides if the choice they are making will produce God honoring results or results that are fleeting. So many people are seeking happiness, satisfaction, and having their needs met only to find out that the temporal things they are seeking to satisfy these needs will never give to them what they had hoped. The wise and prudent person sees and understands this. The wise and prudent person understands that God and a relationship with Jesus is the only thing that will satisfy. The wise and prudent person understands that the Bible is the manual for how to live life, not their fleeting desires.
The fool is reckless and careless because they think that the fleeting desires they have will be satisfied by temporal things. Look at the lives of the rich and the famous. They seem to have all that the world has to offer – fame, fortune, and power – yet they are usually looking for more. Drugs, alcohol, illicit relationships, and possessions are what they keep turning to thinking that what is around the corner will satisfy. Yet, it never does.
Spend some time evaluating your life. What are your habits? Are you spending time in God’s Word each day seeking to live according to God’s standard for joy? Or are you known to frequent some external pleasure to provide the satisfaction you are looking for, only to be let down one more time because “it” did not satisfy?
Are you simple or prudent? Wise or foolish?
