“A stone is heavy, and sand is heavy; but a fool’s wrath is heavier than them both.” Proverbs 27:3
Devotional Thought For The Day
If you’ve ever stood under such “wrath” of a fool you understand perfectly this proverb. That is, if you have also had enough actual experience lifting large stones and working with heavy sand. If not, a good eight hour stint of shoveling and moving sand and large stones would be an excellent educational experience – though the aches and pains that would ensue would cause you to rue such learning. Those who have faced and endured such daunting physical labor, and who have also been afflicted by a fool’s wrath are able to compare the relative weight and discomfort of both experiences – and would readily agree with this Word of God; the wrath of the fool often weighs far heavier upon us than objects from the natural world. An example of this might be the recent news account of the bikers who tracked down and beat a father in a traffic dispute. We have all had such experiences, when the wrath and anger of another person is poured out upon us – sometimes in a burst of hot anger and fury, at other times in a caustic stew of treachery cooked up in a malicious heart over time. Regardless, when the wrath hits us it feels like a gigantic weight – crushing not external limbs and bones but our very heart and soul.
Wrath and anger are “natural” experiences in a world filled with sin and error. When others make “mistakes” that impact us negatively this creates some anger. Other aspects of our sinful nature exacerbate such anger – prideful assumption that we would never make such a mistake, that we would never be so careless, that we would take greater care in getting it right. Or a judgmental assessment that some great evil is behind the mistake or sin of another – disrespect, disregard for our feelings, malice, envy, or lust. So we must take care in managing, regulating, and putting away all wrath and anger, lest we end up being the one with “a fool’s wrath” – laying gigantic and unbearable weights on the hearts of others. The darkness and evil done by a fool’s wrath is astronomically greater than the “offense” that caused it, and those who unleash such destruction will have to bear the consequences of the evil they have inflicted on others.
This gets us to the point of understanding and identifying such wrath as belonging to a “fool.” While those who know and believe God’s love for us in Christ Jesus also react to some things with anger, through repentance and an understanding of the difficult struggle we have with our sinful nature, and also knowing God’s gracious mercy and forgiveness in Christ Jesus, such believers get rid of their anger through forgiveness, understanding, mercy, compassion, graciousness, and forbearance. The “fool” understands none of these things and gives no consideration to his own wickedness and evil, his own foolishness and naiveté, and has no grasp of his utter need for God’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness. So he has no capacity to extend the same to others, those who have “offended” him. Rather, his sinful nature has free reign to nurture and foment his anger, wrath, and rage – and to then cast that fiery burden upon others, those whom he has grown to hate and despise. He justifies it all by thinking the worst of others and comparing himself favorably to them. This is something that we cannot allow to happen within our hearts, if we would remain Christian and avoid becoming fools.
So, what of the “fool” who has cast an outrageous burden upon us – unjustly and unfairly – through their own wrath and anger? Surely we have ample justification to respond in kind, and to bury them even deeper in an explosion of our own hurt, anger, judgment, wrath, and despising of them, don’t we? Not unless we desire to become fools ourselves. But, if we do not explode on others, how can we live with the fire within? Our sinful nature determines that nothing could be worse than not taking vengeance! But the mind of Christ determines that nothing could be worse than acting the fool, despising God’s gracious forgiveness and mercy, and meting out to others as they have meted out to us. In fact, the greater our indignation the greater our self-condemnation if we return evil for evil. Is this difficult and painful? Of course it is – we too are fallen sinful human beings. So we need to remain close to Christ, close to truth, and rest ourselves deeply in His gracious forgiveness and love – so that we also love others and forgive them, even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven us. We have been warned in this proverb and prepared. May God grant us grace through the power of His Spirit to avoid this foolishness of our dark sinful hearts.
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, our experience of the wrath of a fool is but a small sample of the wrath and justice that we have merited with our own sin, our evils and our lack of love. Thank You for the forgiveness and salvation that You have earned and freely given to us, so that we never have to fear the wrath of God’s punishment falling upon us. Keep us firm in our life of truth, repentance, and faith, so that living each day in deep appreciation of Your gracious love, we keep far away from exercising fool’s wrath against others. Protect us from falling under such fool’s wrath, and preserve us from the harm and evil they seek to inflict upon us. Especially keep such experiences from hardening our own heart. Amen.