Postings on Proverbs 12:15

"The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice" (ESV)

This proverb, like so many, confronts our TV shows, movies, music -- the major culture-shaping influencers in our culture -- and their 'I did it my way' attitudes. Proverbs does this by attacking the core of our culture, which is in the heart of every human being: pride.

Who: the fool vs the wise
What: is right in his own eyes vs listens to advice
Where: anywhere
When: anytime
Why: neither is in the text, but it seems this is pride vs. humility
How: ???

Here, whether one is wise or foolish depends on what you do with the counsel you receive from wise people. "The wise recognizes his need [for] counsel; the arrogant fool is convinced that he has no need. ... This know-it-all individualist, who does it his own way, is living in a fool's paradise, but no one can tell him that" (Waltke 533). The "know-it-all' is arrogant, and his arrogance blinds him from identifying the problems he's causing his own life.

I've seen the blinding effects of someone being "right in his own eyes." I had a boss who blamed the problems he really caused on scapegoats to save his own reputation. This kept him from ever addressing his own issues, from ever seeing his own sin, from ever asking if he was actually the cause of the problems he and his organization was facing. The result: these kinds of people "just keep marching forward to their own destruction" (Longman 276).

In contrast, "the wise are not convinced that their way is invariably correct, so they are willing to pay attention to advice" (Longman). Part of needing advice is admitting you don't have all the answers, that you have blind spots, that you need other people in your life to make good decisions, and all of that takes humility. Humble people ask for help, especially when they're making big decisions or when things are falling apart around them.

Ask yourself, how often do I even ask for advice? Or, when I get advice, do I listen to it? If your answer to these questions is Never or Almost Never, you're prideful and on the "way of a fool" that leads to destruction.