All throughout the book of Proverbs – and Psalms too, to some extent – there is presented a stark contrast between the wise and the foolish. It is a very black-and-white representation of the two opposites, so much so that I think sometimes it’s easy to see the extremity of the foolish and assume we are therefore to be lotted with the wise since we are not quite so bad compared to the picture of a fool presented in the Scripture. However, just because you aren’t one thing doesn’t mean you automatically are another. It’s easy to read that, “a fool finds pleasure in evil conduct, but a man of understanding delights in wisdom” (Proverbs 10:23) and think that we find no pleasure in evil conduct, so we must therefore be OK and must be wise when, really, that isn’t the case; the wise man is required to delight in wisdom.

My point is that the delineation between wisdom and folly is perhaps not quite as cut-and-dried as we think, that perhaps it is easier to be a fool than it is to be wise, that maybe just because we aren’t ‘as bad as’ the caricature of a fool doesn’t necessarily make us not a fool. That maybe being wise is like the center of a bullseye, and being a fool is all of the wider rings around that small center, and just because we get close doesn’t mean we’re any less of a fool merely by measurement of distance. This verse in particular challenged me a lot:

In his pride the wicked does not seek God; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
Psalms 10:4

The wicked man (or foolish man) in this verse is proud. Pride is thinking we can be autonomous, that we can get along just fine all by ourselves without any help from anyone. It excludes need from our thought process and leaves no acknowledgement of our weakness or imperfection. But that is not the primary sin of this man. The sin of the wicked as presented in this verse is that in all of his thoughts there is no room for God.

Wow.

Take a second and think about that.

How much room is there in your thoughts for God?

How many of your thoughts exclude any reference to Him altogether?

Pride is, unfortunately, a root that has taken hold in the heart of all of us. It is essence to the state of fallen, unredeemed humanity. Until we reach heaven, none of us will ever be completely rid of it. It sneaks up on us so easily, coaxing us gently and slyly away from our dependency on and desperation for God. It doesn’t take much. And our sin? That our thoughts no longer are centered on Christ. It’s like we were standing under an umbrella of protection and covering that, as long as we stay right underneath it, we are covered; but the moment we stray out from underneath it we expose ourselves to a downpour of soul-drenching storms.

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, whose thoughts are fixed on You!
Isaiah 26:3

Distraction comes so easily. It steals our thoughts and wastes our time until we find ourselves confused, ill at ease, and without any clear direction. It draws us away from the path of wisdom and leaves us stranded at the dead-end of foolishness. And how does that happen? By leaving no room in our thoughts for God. Elsewhere in Proverbs it says,

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Proverbs 9:10

The Hebrew word for “fear” used in this well-known verse emphasizes awe or reverence rather than terror. It is this kind of fear that provokes the God-fearer to implement his fear in practical righteousness. The word for “knowledge” is a particular kind of knowledge that comes from personal experience. Both of these words sum up an intimate aquaintance with God that comes from being captivated in awe and reverence, the kind of captivation that grabs your entire attention and wrecks your concentration for anything else; an intimate relationship that has developed from knowing God inside-out in every way, in every part of your being. And both of these words leave implication of a person whose entire life is consumed with seeking God, beginning with his thoughts.