A Fool’s Delight Prov. 19:10 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

A Fool’s Delight

Solomon said that delight is not seemly for a fool.  Delight is something that gives great pleasure or satisfaction.  See Ecc 2:8.  Seemly means “suitable or fitting.”  So, something that gives great pleasure or satisfaction is not suitable or fitting for a fool.  As one preacher said, “A fool doesn’t have the self-control or the common sense to handle it.”  He’ll destroy himself with with pleasure.  The examples in the Bible are numerous and so we’ll only look at some of them.

Fool’s delight in:

Money

Wealth can be beneficial. And strong men know how to handle it [Prov 11:16].  But in the hands of a fool wealth is disastrous.  The prodigal son is a prime example [Lk 15:11-20].  Very few fools who have messed up with money ever come to themselves like the prodigal did.  See also:

• In Prov 13:11 wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished
• Prov 13:7 says, he maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing
• Prov 28:22 he that hasteth to be rich… poverty shall come upon him
• Ecc 5:10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver

About money, a wise man knows not to love it [1 Tim 6:10], trust it [Prov 11:28], covet it [Lk 12:15], withhold it [Prov 11:24], spend it up [Prov 21:20], or borrow it [Prov 22:7]. He gives liberally [2 Cor 9:6-7].  He knows that it is more blessed to give than to receive [Acts 20:35].

Sex

God gave men and women the delight of sexual relations as part of marriage [Heb 13:4; 1 Cor 7:32-34].  Notice how the husband pleases his wife and she pleases him [1 Cor 7:3-5].  A fool gets into these physical relations for his own pleasure, selfishly.  Look what happened to Amnon [2 Sam 13:2-15].  How many foolish young ladies and foolish young men have messed themselves and others up with this delight [Prov 7:7, 22-23]?  If you are a fool, or if you get yourself entangled with a fool, you will regret it for the rest of your life.  You end up with unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, jealousies, broken hearts, unfaithful marriages, divorces and the like.  Wise men and women don’t rush into marriage for this delight.  They are patient and wait to be sure they are getting into marriage at the right time, with the right person, and for the right reasons. They want the blessing of God.

Pleasure

One of the great blessings of fellowship with God is that at his right hand there are pleasures for evermore [Ps 16:11].  There are joy, peace, love, contentment, satisfaction, grace, assurance, and purpose with God. These are unlike anything you could ever find in the world.  However, these things are spiritual, not carnal. Thus, a person looking for pleasure will pass up Jesus Christ and pursue worldly pleasures.  He’s a fool.  As 2 Tim 3:4 says, they are “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.”  Pursuing worldly pleasures will cost you.  As Solomon said, “He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man,” [Prov 21:17].  They will choke out the fruitfulness of the word in your life [Lk 8:14].  And they will damn your soul [2 Thes 2:12].  They are a fool’s delight.  A righteous man would never sacrifice his eternal pleasure with God on the altar of the temporal pleasure of sin [Heb 11:25].

Conclusion

Don’t be a fool when it comes to your delight.  Be wise when it comes to money, sex and pleasure.  God will give you delight in these things according to his will and in his time.  So, turn from these worldly pleasures and delight yourself in the Lord.