Proverbs 1:22

“How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing And fools hate knowledge?”

      There was a wonderful tradition in my family as I grew up. Anytime we would buy a swing set, bookshelf, grill, or anything that required assembly, my Dad would be the one to put it all together. However he would refuse the help of the directions. Who needs those? We kids would help. By help I mean be in the way and giggle annoyingly anytime things went wrong. Every 15 minutes, when another frustration arose, my Mother would offer to give him the directions. He would scoff at the idea, with my Mom shaking her head.

      This harmless example describes exactly how many people live their lives. They go about stubbornly refusing to look at the wisdom that would show them how to live. Not only that, but they take a perverse joy in refusing such wisdom. They enjoy doing it their own way, even if that way is doomed to fail.  They delight in making fun of others who would live by such wisdom. How stupid and wasted a person’s life is by actually using the instructions! Do not dare to offer them knowledge. They want absolutely no part in it.

      We too can fall into this trap. It does not have to be nearly as blatant as this. We may have a silent, less obvious rebellion. Or we can find ourselves just being too lazy. For our lives, God has given us the instructions. He has told us how to construct a good life. It is found in the Bible. All we have to do is read it and apply it. Some people do not do these things willfully, others because of a lack of diligence. The result is the same. Will we reject the knowledge He has offered? Will we continue being simple-minded in our day-to-day decisions?

“How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing And fools hate knowledge?”