November 26

Nov 26 - Today from Proverbs 26 we look at verse 12
"Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him."

Proverbs for the king and those who dealt with the king. This was the purpose for which Hezekiah's aids collected the proverbs of chapters 25-31. Today they remain just as relevant for leaders and those who aspire to leadership. Leadership in God's economy is servanthood. Great leaders are to be great servants. Think of the greatest leader of all. . . the Lord Jesus.
Leaders are inherently called to be mentors. Moses learned this important lesson from his father-in-law Jethro (Exodus 18). He was burning himself out attempting to 'do it all'. Jethro advised him to chose 'capable men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain - and appoint them as officials' over various groups of people (verse 21). Now Moses responsibility was to mentor a few instead of trying to micro-manage a multitude. It was doable. The apostle Paul knew the importance of this principle. We see him instruct the young Pastor, Timothy; "The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others." (2 Timothy 2:2). Timothy would have to expand his influence in the church through mentoring.
The role of mentor is inescapable if one is to fully accomplish their responsibilities as a leader. A good leader must have the ability to discern the right people to mentor into positions of authority and influence. It's not always such an easy task. Much of this chapter shares certain indicators to look for as discerning leaders choose their candidates.
It would seem ludicrous to entrust a fool to a position of leadership or influence. The fool's shortcomings are quite easily discerned; they live for themselves. If leaders are indeed to be servants, then fools cannot lead. But there is a type that is much more difficult to discern, 'one who is wise in his own eyes'. What they say often seems to make sense. They can lay out a very convincing case for their preference in a matter. They are very apt in philosophy, and are able to sway men with their craft and self-formed convictions. But, they are stubbornly unteachable, and they are dangerous. They don't appear to serve self. They appear to have the best interests of the people at heart. Only a closer examination will reveal that their motivation is not in serving God, but they are, on some level, serving man rather than God. The big flaw in their character and their approach is that they depend on their formulated philosophies more than they depend on the revealed Word of God. Woe to our churches who embrace such leaders. These leaders tend to choose and mentor new leaders of the same mould. No matter how good it may sound, wisdom is not found in the philosophies of man. We must heed the advice of Jethro and Paul and choose or follow proper leaders who will make the tough decisions by honoring God's Word.
"There is more hope for a fool" because a fool has lots of opinions but is seldom embedded in deep convictions. Fools can be corrected through chastisement. It is possible to bring a fool into line. It is much more difficult with one "wise in his own eyes". Such a person will not be corrected. Rather, they will draw a battle line. If, in the end they do not 'win', they will withdraw from the leaders - and often wage war against them from the outside. This can be a very wounding situation in the church. The caution to leaders then is never to give them a position of influence or authority to begin with. Such people need not be barred from fellowship, they simply need to be held in check. The Teacher does not say the situation is hopeless for them, he only says there is more hope for a fool. There is, in fact, hope for all in Christ Jesus.