The book of Proverbs is framed around the contrast between the wise man and the foolish man. The wise man walks in the fear of the Lord and is therefore filled with divine knowledge that enables him to navigate life productively and fruitfully (Prov 3:35; 10:14; 12:18; 13:14; 14:24; 15:2; 16:21, 23; 18:15; 29:8). Because the wise man knows God, he lives in accord with the contours of reality and doesn’t experience the typical friction that occurs when someone goes against the grain of creation.
Conversely, the foolish man does not walk in the fear of the Lord. Because he has not humbly yielded to his Creator, the fool experiences much earthly trouble, heartache, and unnecessary difficulty because he refuses to walk in line with the created order.
One way the Proverbs illustrate the unnecessary troubles that afflict the fool is by comparing his life to a hedge of thorns.
The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a level highway (Prov 15:19)
Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked; whoever guards his soul will keep far from them (Prov 22:5)
Walking on a well-maintained path is much more pleasant and efficient in the long run than taking a shortcut through a large rosebush. Torn clothes, painful scratches, and lost time are the portion of the fool.
Someone Worse than a Fool?
The fool in the book of Proverbs, then, is not a character to be admired or followed. Rather, his folly serves to warn God’s people that rejection of God and his ways leads to a host of earthly problems: financial hardship, broken relationships, quarrels, public disgrace, family troubles, and much more.
A careful Bible reader should take note, then, when he reads that there is someone who is worse than a fool. There are only two occasions when Solomon makes this observation in the book of Proverbs.
Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. (Proverbs 26:12)
Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him (Proverbs 29:20)
These are remarkable statements. In the Proverbs, the fool is someone to avoid, and one upon whose example a believer should not build his life. And yet, these passages imply that there might be some hope that a fool might submit to the fear of the Lord, change his ways, and begin to walk in divine wisdom.
Not so with the man who is wise in his own eyes or the man who is hasty in his words. This kind of person cannot be reclaimed or brought under the fear of the Lord. Why?
If You Are Wise in Your Own Eyes, You Will Be Quick with Your Words
Before I answer that question, we should note that these two descriptions are not unrelated. Actually, the above passages describe the same person. In the next article, I will focus our attention on Proverbs 26:12 and the person who is wise in their own eyes. Nevertheless, as we will see in a moment, someone who is wise in his own eyes will also be hasty in their words.
Back to our question: Why is there more hope for a fool than for someone who is wise in their own eyes? Because this kind of person has no need for wisdom other than what his own mind produces. When it comes to knowledge of reality, this person’s mind is not only the standard by which to judge truth and error, right and wrong, good and evil, but the source of such knowledge as well.
Thus, this person’s mind is guarded against any wisdom outside himself, and, precisely for that reason, cannot be brought to surrender to God’s wisdom. His mind is impenetrable because it is fortified by spiritual and intellectual pride.
You can see why the person who is wise in their own eyes is also the one who is hasty in their words. If you are the one with all the wisdom, it only makes sense that you would make your wisdom known to all with unfiltered abandon. Patient, careful assessment of your speech is unnecessary because everything you think is right, true, and useful. Why hesitate? Let your words fly. What a truly wise person would call “hasty,” the proud person would call “urgent.”
The Danger of Spiritual Pride
This is a woeful place to be. When someone is shut off from the fear of the Lord—the only source of all true wisdom (Prov 1:7; 9:10; see also Col 2:4)—that person is not only on course for earthly and eternal misery like the fool; there is no chance he will be rescued from such a fate. There is more hope for a fool than for him.
But is this warning about the dangers of spiritual and intellectual pride only for the unbeliever? I don’t think so. Even those who have yielded to the fear of the Lord and bent the knee to Jesus Christ must be aware that they, too, can be tempted to think highly of their own innate wisdom and ability to discern truth from error. We all need a sharp word from Scripture to keep us humble and dependent upon divine wisdom.
In the next article, therefore, I will consider five signs that we are becoming wise in our own eyes.
