Unfitting Honor

For September 28, 2007
Proverbs 26:1

Like snow in summer or rain in harvest,
so honor is not fitting for a fool.

There is a season for everything but never honor for a fool. Perhaps a society can be best understood accordingly. Who receives adoration and for what purpose? Consider a society that rates individuality above all other traits. What is more likely to set apart a person's "individuality" than foolish behavior? In sports it is the "bad boy" who wins fame through his notoriety; likewise in entertainment. For that matter, so it happens in every strata of life. The fool gets his share of disapproval, but he gets with it an equal or greater share of praise from adoring fans who not merely excuse his behavior, but praise him precisely for it.

All the more reason then to praise the wise, to praise the good, to praise those persons least likely to garner attention. All the more reason to praise our Lord, the epitome of all that is good, wise, and holy. Especially praise him for the last quality, as well as any who bear such a mark. Holiness is distained by the world, unless the world first distorts the trait to its own liking. Praise those whom the world distains as prudish, as fanatical, as intolerant. Remember, we who follow the world will be counted as foolish. If our faith is counted as reasonable, even exemplary, to the world, then it is time to examine our hearts to see if we have not slipped into foolishness.