The weather has changed, and it is cold out there today! Thankfully, here in North Texas the winters are relatively mild, so the cold temperatures will probably not hang around very long. It is also fortunate that this front did not bring in sleet or snow, making it dangerous to drive.
It is in winter that we expect snow. It comes with the season. The writer of Proverbs used this truth to make an important point:
“As snow in summer and rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool” (26:1).
The phrase “is not fitting” is an interesting one. It indicates that honor does not properly belong to the fool. Such a situation is the direct opposite of that declared by the Psalmist, “Your testimonies are very sure; holiness adorns Your house, O Lord, forever” (93:5). Where holiness makes sense and is a proper adornment for God’s house, there is nothing natural or appropriate in a fool being honored.
And yet, we do it all the time! Such adoration and honor is heaped upon our entertainers, our athletes, our politicians. By honoring them as we do, we encourage and enable their foolish actions and values.
Concerning the fool being honored, Keil and Delitschz noted the following: “he will make unjust use of it, and draw false conclusions from it; it will strengthen him in his folly, and only increase it.” Proverbs 19:10 says, “Luxury (“delight” KJV) is not fitting for a fool.”
Instead, foolishness should be discouraged, both in others and most importantly in our own lives. Praise for foolishness is as incongruous as snow in summer!
