Guarding Against Folly: Embracing Wisdom in Life

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As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. The heart of the wise inclines to the right but the heart of the fool to the left. Even as he walks along the road the fool lacks sense and shows everyone how stupid he is. [00:54:33]

It takes a tremendous amount of effort to build a very very successful enterprise, takes only a small amount of folly to destroy it. Now you can apply that at every level. We're not going to delay here. Young people should apply it. They should think about it. Teenagers and children should think about it. [07:19:44]

Foolish impulses need to be guarded against unguarded moments, hasty words, the irritable temper, the rudeness of manner, the occasional slip, the supposedly harmless eccentricity of old George. You know, I have all these fictitious characters, as you know. I have Mabel from Minnesota, and I have George. [08:37:20]

The fool expects that everyone will listen to every word that he says, but he doesn't pay much attention to other people when they're speaking to him. You can tell he's glancing here, he's glancing there. He says aha every so often, aha, but he doesn't know what he's ashaming to. [10:28:00]

Folly knows no class distinction. There are fools everywhere, he says. You find them down on the street, you can find them in government, you find them in business, you find them all over the place. And apparently from this, fools in government has been a consistent feature throughout all of history. [14:37:76]

When individuals are incapable of making wise choices in their own lives, in their private lives, then they shouldn't be put in public office. It's straightforward. Every sensible person understands that. If you can't trust somebody to go and get you a coffee and bring you the right change, why would you trust them? [17:03:04]

If the axe is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring success. If a snake bites before its charm, there is no profit for the charmer. Words from a wise man's mouth are gracious, but a fool is consumed by his own lips. [20:12:55]

The wise man's mouth is full of gracious words. They are encouraging, they are developmental, they lift people up. But a fool, he swallows himself, he eats himself. His words begin with folly and in the end they are wicked madness. What does that mean? It means that at the very outset of things he refuses to begin with God. [23:19:36]

The fool misses the feast. The feast is made for laughter and wine makes life merry, but money is the answer for everything. Now remember the framework with which he is viewing things. Don't dismiss this too quickly. What he's saying is that God's wholesome gifts are good when they're used properly. [29:03:39]

He skipped wisdom 101. He bypassed the words of Solomon: the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. He's foolish by nature, but now he's foolish by choice. You see, this morning each of us is not in a neutral category whereby we can either choose foolishness or choose wisdom. [32:49:44]

Can I tell you that being a fool in this life is to face the next life totally unprepared? To be a fool in this life and to forsake the remedy is to face the next life totally unprepared. Sin is folly because it is disobedience to and it is rebellion against the will of God. [33:25:19]

The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate. Where's the wise man? Where is the scholar? [34:30:48]

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