Wisdom or Foolishness

Ecclesiastes 10

 ¹² Words from a wise man's mouth are gracious,
       but a fool is consumed by his own lips.

 ¹³ At the beginning his words are folly;
       at the end they are wicked madness-

 ¹⁴ and the fool multiplies words.
       No one knows what is coming—
       who can tell him what will happen after him?

 ¹⁵ A fool's work wearies him;
       he does not know the way to town.

 A very short one. So what does it mean by the word from a wise man's mouth are gracious? To me personally, when a wise person speaks, it brings LIFE to others. For instance, I always find life in the words that were spoken by pastor and Shirley to me. When I sit down and talk to them. Just within few minutes, I would know what to do with my problems, or I would have revelations! Isn't that amazing? I yearn to have that kind of mouth. The mouth of the wise, they say. But of course we know, this is also the mouth of the anointed people of God. So in the bible says, when a wise person speaks, there is grace. I personally feel, a wise person and a fool can speak the same intended message, but with very different result. Because of the words they chose to use. The wise will speak with words that will draw to himself and others, grace, mercy, enlightenment, respect and honor. Whereas when a fool speaks, people would just want to strangle him or her to death, throw shoes at him or her, or just disrespect that person. So be careful with your words. See, it also says in verse 12, that a fool's words will consume his lips. In other words, when a fool speaks, he will attract negative effects and consequences to himself. Again....the words are in play.

Verse 13 shows that it is very easy to detect a fool. How? When everything he says doesn't bring harmony, doesn't bring peace....and doesn't make sense at all! Wicked madness! That is how a fool speaks. MADNESS! Haha....in this, I am not talking about jokes. But truly, he believes in what he says, and people thinks whatever he says is madness. That is indeed very sad. Who wants to be considered mad? Eventually, very little people will draw close to a fool. Because, what benefit can he offer? Good advise? I doubt! A fool will only create conflicts and misunderstandings. They are not careful with what they say, they do not think thoroughly of what to speak. They just SAY IT! That is one big mistake that I find in people a lot of times. They just speak things without proper filtering or consideration of consequences, and at times, it brings trouble and worst still, they damage the self-esteem, confidence and respect of others.

A fool, only draw problems to themselves. And reading on in verse 14. What is the conclusion? All gossipers = to fools. :) If you gossip and you are very much excited by other people's juicy news, and problems....then, you are a fool! Worst is when you spread things, and said it in untrue manner. I am often very upset by people twisting the truth. Because I find it very damaging to the people involved. The right message never get conveyed, and worst is when everybody else misunderstands. So, there is no such thing as being lazy in listening (irrelevant), or assuming stories. I dislike assumptions A LOT. If one is not sure, what would a wise person do? ASK. Don't assume. Don't create stories! If you are lazy to hear the proper stories, or that you are unclear of the whole situation, then don't speak of it AT ALL! Don't comment, don't even begin to tell it out, because you do not know! It is better to take the stand of "not knowing anything" than say you "know everything" and tells the wrong story. And a wise person will always choose the people he tells the stories to. A wise person will tell the right things to the right people who are either able to help, to keep a secret, to edify him...and not to gossippers, and careless whisperers. Wisdom is what makes a person walk in noble, respected light. Wisdom is what makes a person capable of handling his life well.

Nobody knows what can happen to a fool. His consequences are a threat to him. Whatever he does, wears him out. He gets tired, he gets shut down, blown off time after time because of mismanagement of himself. He doesn't even know the way to "town" the bible says. He doesn't know how to get himself to a resourceful place, a place of fulfilment, a place of success. He lost his way halfway there, and will be running in circles.....So why is life unfair for the fools, you may ask?....Well, friends....it is because to be wise or to be a fool, it is definitely a CHOICE. The way you react, respond, speak, act, and do things determine whether you are a fool or a wise man. And wise man always gets heard, the fool will often get ignored. 

So I believe it is very evident  here, that being wise have very much benefits. However, if you are stuck in the circle of a fool, and you find being in that circle is good for you, well...then the choice is yours. 

Choose today who you want to be. Choosing the proper words and actions are the key to wisdom. 

Have a great day, folks!