Proverbs 15:20-21
A wise child brings joy to his father,
but a foolish person despises his mother.
Folly is a joy to one who lacks sense,
but one who has understanding follows an upright course.
I know a guy. We’ll call him Ralph. And while he’s been rather successful at wrecking his life as well as the lives of others in His life, I’m not talking about Wreck It Ralph.
This guy made many mistakes. Now, I understand that we all make mistakes. I don’t want to give the impression that I’m perfect or that the person who truly lives the Proverbious life will be someone who doesn’t make mistakes. We all do, we all will. But, this guy made a lot of mistakes. And kept making them, knowing that he was making them. And then while he made them, he made more of them and continued live in this way.
He literally destroyed his life, in spite of the warnings he received from all the people who loved him. Even when he had been caught and it all came out, he carried on.
In fact, it got to a point where he seemed to enjoy the mistakes. He enjoyed the bad decisions that he was making. He enjoyed that they were bad and didn’t care. He enjoyed that he was doing exactly the opposite of everything he had been told.
And he was a great source of pain and frustration for his parents. It was hard for them to talk about it.
The point is, Ralph had gotten upside down. Somehow the things that should have been calling him pain were now bringing him joy. Somehow the things that he was warned to stop became the things he wanted to pursue. He had pursued folly so much that folly seemed like the right road to be on, and righteousness seemed like folly.
Beware of folly. Beware of pursuing those things that seem fun even though you know they are wrong. Over time, you may find yourself pursuing the wrong things and convinced that what’s right is wrong.
