Proverbs 26:1-16: a reflection

1Like snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool. 2Like a fluttering sparrow, like a darting swallow, so the undeserved curse doesn’t come to rest. 3A whip is for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools! 4Don’t answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him. 5Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes. 6One who sends a message by the hand of a fool is cutting off feet and drinking violence. 7Like the legs of the lame that hang loose, so is a parable in the mouth of fools. 8As one who binds a stone in a sling, so is he who gives honor to a fool. 9Like a thorn bush that goes into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools. 10As an archer who wounds all, so is he who hires a fool or he who hires those who pass by. 11As a dog that returns to his vomit, so is a fool who repeats his folly. 12Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. 13The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road! A fierce lion roams the streets!” 14As the door turns on its hinges, so does the sluggard on his bed. 15The sluggard buries his hand in the dish. He is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth. 16The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer with discretion.

Among these proverbs comes a striking warning about the person who is wise in his own eyes, self-conceited and unteachable: there is more hope for a fool than for him. Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? the proverb asks. There is more hope for a fool than for him. It is a startling comparison. The fool, for all his folly, at least may come to see his folly and learn; but the one who is wise in his own eyes, so convinced of his own wisdom that he cannot be taught or corrected, is in a worse case, for his self-conceit closes him off from learning. Self-conceit that will not learn is worse than plain folly. This shows the peril of being wise in our own eyes, self-conceited and unteachable. Being wise in our own eyes is worse than plain folly. Self-conceit closes us off from learning and correction. There is more hope for a fool than for the self-conceited. The one wise in his own eyes cannot be taught.

Notice the sharp point of this proverb. We might expect the fool to be the most hopeless case; but the proverb says there is more hope for a fool than for the one who is wise in his own eyes. Why? Because the fool may yet come to recognize his folly and learn; but the person convinced of his own wisdom, self-conceited, wise in his own eyes, is closed off from learning. He cannot be taught, because he already thinks he knows; he cannot be corrected, because he is sure he is right; his self-conceit shuts the door to growth. This is a searching warning. The greatest barrier to wisdom is often not ignorance, which can be remedied by learning, but self-conceit, the conviction that we are already wise, which shuts out learning and correction. When we are wise in our own eyes, sure of our own understanding, unwilling to be taught or corrected, we close ourselves off from growing wiser. Real wisdom begins with humility, with knowing that we do not know everything, that we have much to learn, that we can be wrong and can be corrected. We do well to guard against being wise in our own eyes, and to cultivate the humility that remains teachable and open to correction. Guard against being wise in your own eyes; stay teachable and humble. Self-conceit shuts out the learning that leads to wisdom. Real wisdom begins with humility, not self-conceit. Stay open to being taught and corrected, not sure you already know.

That is worth taking to heart, for being wise in our own eyes is worse than plain folly, closing us off from learning, and we do well to stay humble and teachable. We can be wise in our own eyes, sure of our own understanding, unwilling to be taught or corrected; but the proverb warns there is more hope for a fool than for such a one, for self-conceit shuts out learning. Humility keeps us teachable. Do not be wise in your own eyes; stay humble and open to being taught and corrected, for real wisdom begins there. Guard against being wise in your own eyes, staying humble and teachable rather than self-conceited and closed to correction, for the proverb warns that there is more hope for a fool than for the one who is wise in his own eyes; for the fool, for all his folly, may yet come to recognize his folly and learn, but the one convinced of his own wisdom, self-conceited and wise in his own eyes, is in a worse case, since his self-conceit closes him off from learning, so that he cannot be taught because he already thinks he knows and cannot be corrected because he is sure he is right, and this is a searching warning, since the greatest barrier to wisdom is often not ignorance, which can be remedied by learning, but self-conceit, the conviction that we are already wise, which shuts out learning and correction, so that real wisdom begins with humility, with knowing we do not know everything and can be wrong and corrected, and we do well to guard against being wise in our own eyes and to cultivate the humility that remains teachable and open to correction.

Lord, among these proverbs comes a striking warning about the person who is wise in his own eyes, self-conceited and unteachable: there is more hope for a fool than for him. Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? the proverb asks. There is more hope for a fool than for him. It is a startling comparison. The fool, for all his folly, at least may come to see his folly and learn; but the one who is wise in his own eyes, so convinced of his own wisdom that he cannot be taught or corrected, is in a worse case, for his self-conceit closes him off from learning. Show me the sharp point of this proverb. I might expect the fool to be the most hopeless case; but the proverb says there is more hope for a fool than for the one who is wise in his own eyes. Why? Because the fool may yet recognize his folly and learn; but the person convinced of his own wisdom cannot be taught, because he already thinks he knows; cannot be corrected, because he is sure he is right; his self-conceit shuts the door to growth. This is a searching warning. The greatest barrier to wisdom is often not ignorance, which can be remedied by learning, but self-conceit, the conviction that I am already wise, which shuts out learning and correction. When I am wise in my own eyes, sure of my own understanding, unwilling to be taught or corrected, I close myself off from growing wiser. Real wisdom begins with humility, with knowing that I do not know everything, that I can be wrong and can be corrected. Take that to my heart, for being wise in my own eyes is worse than plain folly. Keep me from being wise in my own eyes, self-conceited and closed to correction; help me stay humble and teachable, Lord, open to being taught and corrected rather than sure I already know, that I may grow in real wisdom, which begins with humility.