Wisdom vs. Folly - Ecclesiastes 10

“Wise words bring approval, but fools are destroyed by their own words.”

Wisdom is to be considered as a faculty of the mind, it is the faculty of discerning or judging what is most just, proper, useful, and if it is to be considered as an acquirement; it is the knowledge and use of what is best, and most conducive to prosperity and happiness. While folly is defined as weakness of intellect; imbecility of mind.

Solomon gives perspective comparing the notion of wisdom and folly, how one births prudence and success while the other only leaves one responding in thought and action that is asinine. There will be no achievements acquired because all of their actions are rooted in foolishness. In Chapter 10 verse 2, Solomon writes that a wise person chooses the right road; a fool takes the wrong one. This gives clear evidence of knowing a person by their fruit. If you are new to reading the Bible, fruit is metaphorically used to refer to the visible results of a person’s life through assessing their character and actions. Jesus said, a good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit (Matthew 7:17-18). It’s our behavior and deeds that reflect a person’s true nature. So, when Solomon speaks of one’s morals and behaviors, we are able to take this verse and apply it to our lives and pay attention to the people we keep close contact with to evaluate if they are producing good or bad fruit. The writer goes further to express you can identify fools just by the way they walk down the street.

There’s a chaos resulting in foolishness and the Bible informs us that a fool based their thoughts on foolish assumptions, so their conclusion will be wicked madness. A foolish person has a brainsick amount of confidence regarding things they do not understand; there’s a continual pride that exudes from their speech which results in insanity. Only God knows all things, especially the future.

A wise person has the qualities of Christ. They have a reverence for God because they recognize the Lord’s authority and they live their lives submitted to God. The Bible says if you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom (James 3:13). Living a life that is filled with wisdom is practical and ethical. It allows one to remain teachable because they are eager to grow and are always willing to receive correction. Wisdom allows our language and tongue to be filled with restraint, truth, kindness and ceaseless gentleness. I envision wisdom as a road one can travel that will be filled with righteousness because it’s a clear separation from sin. This road allows a person to walk in spiritual maturity and have divine guidance from the Holy Spirit.

In Isaiah 35:8, he illustrates a prophetic vision of God restoring his people. The clear wisdom spoken in that verse give chills to my bones. It states:

“and a great road will go through that once deserted land. It will be named the highway of Holiness. Evil-minded people will never travel on it. It will be only for those who walk in God’s ways; fools will never walk there.”

Our current lives is a road that is being tested. Are we going to choose to walk in wisdom that produces righteous living daily or are we going to walk in foolishness disobeying God and choosing a life that is filled with all things that are detestable to God? I’ll leave you with this:

“the Lord detest people with crooked hearts, but he delights in those who walk with integrity.”