Good Sense – A Fountain of Life
“Good sense is a fountain of life to him who has it, but the instruction of fools is folly.” (Prov. 16:22 ESV)
John Wayne famously said, “You can’t fix stupid!” He was right in most respects because the verse at the top says, “The instruction of fools is folly.” Why is this true? What exactly is folly? And is there any hope or “fix” for people lacking good sense? Let’s take a look.
Folly is wrongheadedness
According to the Bible Dictionary, “Folly is the opposite of wisdom. It is not imbecility, insanity, or error. It is wrongheadedness. It has to do with practical insights into the nature of things that lead to success or failure in life. Wisdom and folly in the Bible rest on the principle of adjustment to a higher law for a practical purpose. Folly involves rejection or disregard of the revealed moral and spiritual values on which life is based. The fool sins against his own best interests and rejects God (Psalm 14:1).”
Having good sense is an essential quality in life
The dictionary defines having good sense as sound judgment often instinctive or unlearned. Some synonyms are insight, judgment, logic, practicality, prudence, rationality, wisdom, good reasoning, gumption, horse sense, levelheadedness, reasonableness, and sensibleness.
Why it’s essential
If you don’t have good sense, you can’t make good judgments about things. You make stupid mistakes and bad decisions. This is what John Wayne said you cannot fix. And he was right because you can’t fix it yourself, but God can and tells you how!
Proverbs to the rescue
There are some great promises in the Bible about how studying and applying the proverbs of Solomon will increase insight and will give prudence to the simple (Prov. 1:4). In other words, Proverbs can “fix stupid”.
Proverbs impart prudence to the simple
“These are the proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel, for gaining wisdom and discipline, for comprehending words of insight, and for receiving instruction in wise living and in righteousness, justice, and equity. To impart prudence to the simple and knowledge and discretion to the young, let the wise listen and gain instruction, and the discerning acquire wise counsel by understanding the proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” (Prov. 1:1-7 NIV)
Therefore
“To you, O men, I call, and my cry is to the children of man. O simple ones, learn prudence; O fools, learn sense. Hear, for I will speak noble things, and from my lips will come what is right, for my mouth will utter truth.” (Prov. 8:4-7 ESV)
A challenge to grow good sense
Read proverbs every day! The book of Proverbs contains 31 chapters (one a day for most months). Each chapter contains 20–35 wise sayings. Read them. Meditate (think deeply) on what they say. And apply them to your daily life. As you do, you will gain what is known as “the wisdom of Solomon,” and that will help you in every area of your life!