I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man  lacking sense, and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stonewall was broken down. Then I saw and  considered it; I looked and received instruction. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man. (Proverbs 24:30-34)

Notice the passive nature of the sluggard: sleep, slumber, folding the hands to rest… This proverb negates the notion of neutrality. The most active way to undermine your investment is to be inactive.

Look at the little references: a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands…This proverb reveals the big nature of little things. The quickest way to a big mess is through little concessions.

Whatever God has given you to do today, do it with all your mind and all your might. Be active. Make progress. Do the little things – the right little things. Change your activity. Change your attitude. Be wise with your work.

This verse struck me as unusually humorous as I had my morning devotional time at a local coffee shop. I immediately had the mental image of a person with bow in hand surrounded by a confused and bloody crowd running around with arrow wounds. This could easily be a subtitle to a scene from a Monty Python movie.

The reality is when someone acts foolishly they end up hurting others. Their words and actions are like sharpened arrows shot arbitrarily. Don’t get too close to a blind archer. They might not be aiming at anything in particular, but if you are in their path you will likely get hit.

Like the blind leading the blind are those who flock to leaders who are known for foolish and self-centered behavior. If you are an employer looking to make a hire, or a church looking to call a pastor, whatever you do, don’t hire a blind archer. You’ll get hurt every time.

That’s an interesting thought.  Pride blinds us to our own faults, yet magnifies the faults of others.  Pride makes me look and feel better about myself, yet to others the very thing that I find affirming is repulsive.  Pride makes me love myself more, yet pushes those I love further away.  Only the proud miss this.

Pride is a sedative that relieves us of our insecurities yet numbs us to our faults. Pride can make you feel better about yourself but cannot improve your self image.  Pride blinds us to the needs of others while making us super-sensitive to our own needs.   The Apostle Paul countered this sinful vice with the admonition, “Let nothing be done through contention, neither by vain glory: but in humility, let each esteem others better than themselves” (Phil. 2:3).  In order to see the needs of others we have to look past our own pride.  Only the proud miss this.

This next week the Southern Baptist Convention will hold its annual meeting in Louisville, KY.  I guess I need a reminder that in the midst of a wonderful event of fellowship and partnership that such settings are perfect platforms for pride to set in.  It’s easy to want to be noticed, to want to be seen with the VIPs, to want to be considered as “better than” others.  The Apostle Paul would likely love the fellowship and gospel partnership.  He would certainly hate the opportunity for pride.  He would call it for what it is.  Only the proud miss this.

This is just a reminder to myself that the greatest and highest calling I have is to be the servant of Christ.  May God protect this pride-prone heart from being blinded from the important things. As C.S. Lewis once said,  “A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you’re looking down, you can’t see something that’s above you.”  I want to look out to see others and look up to see God.  I want to learn to be humble.  Only the proud miss this.

A child sitting on a stool in the corner of a one room school house with a dunce cap on his head: this is the image that will forever come to mind when I hear the word dumb.  It might actually be one of the better ways to picture the truth conveyed in Proverbs 26:12.  It symbolizes a “smart alec” kid who is being punished.  In his trickery he is made to play the fool.

This might be somewhat of a paradox.  In order to be wise we have to see ourselves as something less than wise.  However, the point – I believe – is not self abasement.  The point is humility.  If we place the highest value on our own opinion we are sure to make foolish decisions. When, in our wisdom, we spurn the advice of others we are too dumb to know how foolish we really are.

The collection of Proverbs in the Bible teaches us to treasure godly counsel.  The Proverbs teach us that the way of a fool is right in the fool’s own eyes (Prov. 12:15).  In other words, when a fool acts foolishly it is – to him – the most right course of action. His folly blinds him to his foolishness.  In the end the fool is too dumb to know any different.  Beware less you fall captive to the same predicament.  Whose wisdom are you leaning on today?