Day 61, Year 1 Forsaking Foolishness

“Folly is joy to him who is destitute of discernment, but a man of understanding walks uprightly.” (Proverbs 15:21 NKJV)

“Forsake your folly and live, And proceed in the way of understanding.” (Proverbs 9:6 NASB)

The term “destitute of discernment” in the first verse of today is chacer leb in Hebrew, which means “lacking in heart” and implies “lacking mind, lacking sense, lacking depth.” This verse mentions that heartless people enjoy silly activities. Indeed there is an abundance of shallow thoughts, pastimes, and entertainment in many societies, such as reading trivial matters or gossip of celebrities. If you enjoy superficial jokes, you might be a “heartless” person according to the scripture. And it might be difficult for those who get used to these silly activities to ponder the questions of faith and life, meditate on them, and receive the spiritual truth in the Bible.

Some superficial entertainment might not be evil on the surface. However, they might distance people from their own souls, and cause them to lose touch with their deep needs and focus solely on seeking superficial gratifications and stimulations. Those accustomed to superficiality tend to resist contemplating deeper topics such as the spiritual realm, death, faith, or other serious aspects of life. Worse yet, even if these superficial people believe in Jesus, they would likely seek a superficial faith that fits their preference. Since their thoughts are fundamentally disconnected from their souls, they might also find it difficult to feel God’s work within their souls.

The second verse of today states, “Forsake your folly and live.” This verse could serve as a footnote to Jesus’ command that we, His disciples, deny ourselves. Indeed, one cannot enter into a new and deep spiritual life, adopting and following Jesus’ spiritual principles with His wisdom, without discarding superficial pastimes, hedonistic worldviews, and bad habits. This transforming process demands great determination, perseverance, and willpower. 

Today’s two verses highlight different paths. The overall message is to invite people to walk on God’s way of understanding and uprightness. The second verse “understanding” in Hebrew, binah, also means “discernment, insight.” The change believers need upon forsaking foolishness and superficiality is first to allow our minds to comprehend our souls. Then we could consistently seek to understand and discern everything having spiritual depth, while rediscovering our innate righteousness, honesty, intelligence, and wisdom that God created in us, which denotes a deeper life in the Spirit for our renewal.

Reflection questions:

1) Do you love certain superficial entertainments? If so, do you think there are some areas where you need to change by God’s help?

2) Do you find pursuing deeper understanding and spiritual discernment difficult? If so, are there any ways to solve this?