Contrast the Upright and the Wicked
14 The wise woman builds her house,
But the foolish tears it down with her own hands.
2 He who walks in his uprightness fears the Lord,
But he who is devious in his ways despises Him.
3 In the mouth of the foolish is a rod [a]for his back,
But the lips of the wise will protect them.
4 Where no oxen are, the manger is clean,
But much revenue comes by the strength of the ox.
5 A trustworthy witness will not lie,
But a false witness [b]utters lies.
6 A scoffer seeks wisdom and finds none,
But knowledge is easy to one who has understanding.
7 Leave the presence of a fool,
Or you will not [c]discern [d]words of knowledge.
8 The wisdom of the sensible is to understand his way,
But the foolishness of fools is deceit.
9 Fools mock at [e]sin,
But among the upright there is [f]good will.
We start off with more contrast between the wise and foolish, and verses 1 and 3 have a bit of a parallel. If you do foolish things, or can’t keep your mouth from foolish talk (idle chatter, gossip, etc.), it’s as if you’re beating your own back, or tearing down your own house.
Now we might get the impression that we need to be squeaky clean all the time, but Solomon throws a wrinkle in here that combats an old saying (which isn’t in the Bible). Ever heard, “cleanliness is next to godliness…”? Yeah, not in the Bible, though one could argue tons of God’s commands were about the Israelites remaining “clean”.
Yet it wasn’t sin to be unclean, it was simply a fact of life. As Solomon notes, you can have a nice and tidy manger (feed trough) if you have no oxen, but you also won’t gain the revenue that comes from having them to farm the land. Wisdom is in knowing what is necessary, what will build your house up, and what is wasting your time and/or tearing your house down (like having a clean manger with no animals to feed).
It’s difficult to know sometimes, should I do this thing over here, or go that way over there? And as Solomon notes in v. 7, you’re not going to find out by hanging around with foolish folks all the time. If what you’re doing isn’t working, find some new people to talk to, find new information, and especially, ask God for wisdom. We all need it, and He has it, if we are willing to take the time and listen.
So what are you waiting for? Him? Or just sitting on your hands because you don’t want your manger to get dirty? The former is valuable beyond comprehension, the latter you might as well lay down in pig slop for all the good it has done. Take the leap, do what is necessary, stop hesitating, and do what God has created you to do.