Proverbs 15:2
"The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable. But the
mouth of fools spouts folly."
Notice that the mouth of the fool gushes forth with selfishness, anger, hatred, criticalness, and impulsiveness. This is very normal for each person to let their sin nature show. When sin grabs you, this is what comes out of your mouth. You become a fountain for selfishness.
A great question is: Would you want to deal with you the way you are acting?
Answer: No!!!
When you are trying to persuade someone that your expectation is the valid one, then you will need to be much wiser. You must figure out a way to make it a win for them. If your words make it a win for you and a loss for them, then you will always have the other person reject your advice. Making knowledge acceptable is a part of saying things in such a way that the person will see how they benefit from doing it the way you like. It means that you think about how to present the information or the expectation in such a way that everybody wins. The word acceptable is the idea of well pleasing. It is more than just acceptable but desired. When wisdom is used, the person wants and desires to do it the way that you have presented it. They see what you are saying as clearly a win for themselves.
There is much foolishness in the idea that "I won't let anyone tell me what to do. I will not follow your rules. I will be a difficult case unless it goes my way. I will be completely selfish and see things only from my point of view.” The wise person realizes that everyone just wants to win. And the real leader and wise person show how everybody wins through following what God wants and, hopefully, they want. There is a level of selfishness and pride in the fool that is unmistakable. I watched a man at a swim meet clearly act like spending time with his family was beneath him. He had to be there, but he clearly protested every minute. He kept trying to demonstrate how in control he was and how irritated he was. He just kept saying things that were meant to make others see him in a positive light but just made him look more bizarre.
This type of tongue and words can grab a hold of anyone and turn them into a fool.
All they have to do is let selfishness take over.
All they have to do is let a wound fester.
All they have to do is let pride take over.
All they have to do is let the fact that they didn't get their own way take over.
These temptations to become a fool are all around us.
Until tomorrow,
Gil Stieglitz