Heavy Weight

For Friday, November 9, 2007
Proverbs 27:3

A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty,
but a fool's provocation is heavier than both.

It is odd how much a fool's provocation weighs upon us. We may exhaust ourselves carrying stone or moving sand. But we may put either down whenever we desire; we can then rest and recoup. But the provocation of a fool weighs upon us and we cannot lay it down. Indeed, the weight only seems to grow.

Perhaps someone has taunted us; perhaps has teased us; perhaps has simply acted foolish in front of us. We cannot get it out of our minds. We keep thinking about it. We begin to fume about it. Perhaps something was said that has an element of truth, and we argue in our minds about it. Perhaps we were embarrassed. The problem is that we cannot get it out of our minds.

How do we get rid of such a weight? The simple answer is to turn it over to God. But how is that done? Through prayer of course, but specifically through Scripture informed prayer. To get the words of the fool out of our minds, we need to fill our minds with the words of God. All Scripture is good to read, but especially effective is to read that which speaks of the character and works of God. If we turn our minds to the praise of God, then there is not room to carry the provocation of a fool.