Of Insults

For Friday, September 9, 2005
Proverbs 12:16

The vexation of a fool is known at once,
but the prudent ignores an insult.

"What did you say about me?"
"Are you laughing at me?"
"Don't ignore me!"

The vexation of a fool is known at once because his focus is on himself. He is bothered when his opinion is not highly regarded; he is attentive to the attention he receives or doesn't receive. His primary concern is not contributing, but getting "his due." Thus he is frustrated a lot. Most people are not free with compliments anyhow, and a fool will receive even less.

The prudent ignores an insult because he is not wrapped around his ego. An insult loses its power to sting when aimed at a truly humble person, i.e. someone whose focus is serving and glorifying God. The prudent also recognizes the cost of paying attention to an insult. It costs emotional energy to dwell on an insult; it costs valuable time that could be used productively. The prudent ignores the insult because insults are foolishly spoken, and it is a waste of time trying to respond to foolishness. Insults are either spoken by fools with whom one cannot reason, or spoken in a foolish moment by the wise, who will recognize their own folly and repent as they come to their senses.

Thus Jesus was able to withstand the many insults hurled at him. His focus was on doing the will of his Father and carrying out the work given him. He knew the hearts of men and ignored their foolish ways. The times that he did respond, however, was not to vindicate himself, but to publicly vindicate his Father and the truth. Even then, he did not brood on the insults of the Pharisees and other enemies, but committed himself to the love and keeping of his Father.

How will you handle insults and slights that may come your way today? Keep your eyes on your Lord, and you will find yourself better able to be prudent and ignore the darts sent your way.

Right in His Own Eyes

For Thursday, September 8, 2005
Proverbs 12:15

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,
but a wise man listens to advice.

This is the problem of the fool. Because he has a foolish perspective about himself, he cannot learn and escape from his foolishness. He thinks he is charming when he is boorish. He believes he knowledgeable about things of which he is ignorant. He cannot read the faces of those who see him as a fool; and when they do express their feelings, he attributes their reaction to jealousy. If he is a student and doing poorly, he attributes the problem to the teacher, thinking that he is a good student. If he does poorly at work, he blames others, unable to see his faults.

The wise man is wise precisely because he does listen to others. Because he is wise he knows who to listen to; he even knows how to benefit from the advice of the foolish. He is attentive to others; he observes before forming his opinions; he asks perceptive questions. He is also quick to give credit where it is due. He is unashamed to change his ideas when someone presents a better point of view; he welcomes the expertise that he does not possess; he will even accept correction by someone who has less knowledge than he.

Why the different reactions? Because the wise love wisdom and the fools love being thought wise. Thus the wise gain wisdom, while the fools remain stuck in their foolishness.

Word and Work

For Wednesday, Septembef 7, 2005
Proverbs 12:14

From the fruit of his mouth a man is satisfied with good,
and the work of a man's hand comes back to him.


When a person learns the truth of both statements, he will find so much of the contentment and success he finds missing. "From the fruit of his mouth" - from speaking words that are wise, words that are loving, words that are wholesome - from such speech a person will reap great reward. The reason is that he will have blessed others. And when others are blessed, they will return the blessing. They will respond with praise and with kindness. They will overlook mistakes. A man may be a hard worker, but if he speaks harshly he will be criticized for his work; he will not be given a break for his mistakes. A person who knows how to speak can change people's views, admit their faults, and be motivated to work harder. A person who speaks foolishly and harshly only reinforces stubborness and stimulates resentment, making goals harder to attain. The reason that many projects are not successful have nothing to do with the inability of a team to know what to do, but everything to do with jealousy, hurt feelings, egos bruised, competition, and so on.

Others fail because they have not connected their success with their work ethic. As a high school principal, I observed the simple rule that consciencious students far excelled lazy students. I noticed that the valedictorian often was not the smartest student, but invariably proved to be hard working. Lazy students, meanwhile, attributed their failures to bad luck, teachers picking on them, and not being as smart as the successful students. They could not, or would not, attribute the problem being their own attitude.

Make the connections! If there is a pattern of offending people, examine the fruit of your mouth. If you remain stuck in your career, examine your work ethic. There are other circumstances that you may not be able to control, but you have more influence than you think. Your words are powerful if they conform to love and righteousness. Your labor is effective, if you work honestly seeking reward from your Master, Jesus Christ. If your focus in word and work is to glorify God, to serve Christ's kingdom, you will find good fruit and reward.

Ensnared or Vindicated

For Tuesday, September 6, 2005
Proverbs 12:13

An evil man is ensnared by the transgression of his lips,
but the righteous escapes from trouble.

However he might, the evil person will ensnare himself because he cannot always keep up a false appearance. Just recently I was reading of a powerful political person who was caught on tape speaking threats against those who would oppose him. He apologizes for a lapse of character, but in truth, the image he tries to convey publicly is a lapse of his real character. The heart, sooner or later, will reveal itself. That is why it is essential to work on real change in our hearts. Learning etiquette and methods to influence and win friends is helpful. Many times good-hearted persons offend others because they have not learned the proper customs of good communication; nevertheless, the righteous heart (and one must have a kind heart to be righteous) will time and again vindicate its owner.

The righteous person will often be protected by others who will speak up for him. His integrity will serve him well when slandered. His righteousness gives him wisdom to know how to avoid trouble and how to escape when evil comes against him.

But the true test will come at the day of judgment before God, when, as Jesus says, "people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned" (Matthew 12:36-37). When the tape is rolled, our words will either ensare us or vindicate us as they reveal the true condition of our hearts.