The Less You Do, The Less You Want to Do
July 9, 2021
Commentary
It’s no smarter to shoot arrows at every passerby than it is to hire a fool (v. 10). Just as a dog eats its own vomit, so will a fool return to his own evil habits (v. 11). This is a picture of a person who professes to know the Lord and lives for a time in an upright way, but when exposed to old temptations turns back to them with enthusiasm. This only proves that the heart had never really been renewed. A dog in Scripture never illustrates a believer, but is often used to picture a false teacher.
There is less hope for a man who thinks he is great because of his own abilities and accomplishments than there is for an out-and-out fool who does not pretend to do anything (v. 12). An example of this type of person is the Pharisees who were filled with the conceit of their wisdom and rejected the counsel of Jesus. Self conceit or pride blinds a person to his sense of need and at least a fool may sense his need for correction.
A sluggard is a lazy person who is always inventing excuses for not working (vv. 13-14). He is almost too lazy to lift food from the dish to his mouth (v. 15). This type of person sticks to his opinions and defends his views even when the disgust of others is evident (v. 16). One who grabs a dog by the ears may expect to be bitten (v. 17). The same is true of someone who gets involved in other peoples’ quarrels (vv. 18-19). It is best to stay out of others’ quarrels and let them settle their own differences between themselves.
Application
What is your opinion of yourself? It is easy for me to either think too highly of myself or to think I am not good enough to do anything. Philippines 4:13 shows us a proper self-image.
Proverbs 26:10– 19 (NET)
10 Like an archer who wounds at random, so is the one who hires a fool or hires any passerby.
11 Like a dog that returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.
12 You have seen a man wise in his own opinion — there is more hope for a fool than for him.
13 The sluggard has said, “There is a lion in the road! A lion in the streets!”
14 Like a door that turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed.
15 The sluggard has plunged his hand in the dish; he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.
16 The sluggard is wiser in his own opinion than seven people who respond with good sense.
17 Like one who grabs a wild dog by the ears, so is the person passing by who becomes furious over a quarrel not his own.
18 Like a madman who shoots firebrands and deadly arrows,
19 so is a person who has deceived his neighbor, and said, “Was I not only joking?”