Counsel of Fools vs. Counsel of Heaven

January 12

We’ve all heard the perverted advice, ‘Don’t get mad, get even.’ Indeed, it flies in the face of all the counsel of the Holy One. When words spoken by mere mortals conflict with God’s Word, we should dismiss them completely from our thinking. We should, but often we don’t.

We are inclined to fall into the trap described in Proverbs 12:16, “A fool shows his annoyance at once…” We flare up, allow our indignation to be conveyed, totally ignoring the second half of that verse which says, “…a prudent man overlooks an insult.”

To emphasize this point further, King Solomon says in Proverbs 14:29, “A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly.” The height of foolishness is evidenced when we rush to judgment or vent our ire when we are displeased with our circumstances. Rather than proving our point by punctuating it with anger, we reveal ourselves to be lacking in judgment.

Solomon states it again, yet another way in Proverbs 19:11 where he says, “A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.” The best way a wronged individual can aggrandize himself, (can attain glory!) is to overlook a wrong. These are startling conclusions, but they are made by one who is acclaimed as the wisest man who ever lived, so it behooves us to give credence to them.