In a world filled with evil, life’s opportunities the key to wisdom

Sometimes various verses from the Bible seem like they were written today.

For example, in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he writes, “Watch carefully how you live, not as foolish persons but as wise, making the most of the opportunities, because the days are evil.” (Eph. 5:15-16)

We see evil all around us. The news media is constantly reporting the greed, the murders, the disrespect for life and property in one form or the other.

In the midst of this, Paul tells us to make the most of the opportunities we have to become wise.

None of us relishes being called a fool or told that something we have done or are about to do is foolish. Let’s be honest, at times we have all been fools and done foolish things.

If we draw a horizontal line and put “foolish” on the left side and “wise” on the right, and then put a vertical mark where we think we are in life, I doubt whether anyone is 100 percent foolish or 100 percent wise. However, we want to move our mark closer to wise category.

The scriptures are constantly contrasting the wise and the foolish.

The Book of Proverbs has these statements: “The wise are cautious and turn away from evil, but the fool throws off restraint and is careless.” (Prov. 14:16) “A fool despises a parent’s instruction, but the one who heeds admonition is wise.” (Prov. 15:5) “The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the minds of fools.” (Prov. 15:7)

World literature has given us plenty of advice on how to turn from our foolish ways to seek wisdom. Auguste Rodin tells us, “Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely.”

An old Chinese proverb directs us to the source of wisdom, “A single conversation across the table with a wise person is worth a month’s study of books.”

John Tillotson reminds us, “The person who provides for this life, but takes no care for eternity, is wise for a moment, but a fool forever.”

My father liked to quote Abraham Lincoln, “‘Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.” And we are all familiar with Alexander Pope’s famous saying, “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.”

Charles Colton makes this contrast, “The wise man has his follies no less than the fool, but it has been said that herein lies the difference – the follies of the fool are known to the world but are hidden from himself; the follies of the wise are known to himself but hidden from the world.”

Helen Keller speaks from her experiences, “Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in this world.”

A Welsh proverb says, “If every fool wore a crown, we should all be kings and queens.”

When we drive irresponsibly under the influence of alcohol or try to beat a red light at a busy intersection, we are acting foolish risking our own lives and those of others. When we get drunk, we make a fool of ourselves.

If we risk harming our relationship with a loved one, we are acting foolishly. If we are not dealing with our addictions, we are acting foolishly.

If we are dishonest at work for some material gain and risk losing our reputation and our job, we are acting foolishly.

And if couples risk becoming pregnant outside a marital union, they are acting foolishly.

Psalm 41 says, “Fools say in their hearts, ‘There is no God.'” (Ps.14: 1)

The wise know that God is always present, urges us to pause and ask for guidance before making any decisions that we might later regret.