Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell, McAlester, OK>br /> Nov. 4,. 2011

“Loud does not mean Proud”
“Woman Folly is noisy; she’s stupid and doesn’t even know it.” – Proverbs 9:13 (CEV)

Is it safe to say that some (if not the majority) of our most embarrassing moments occur when we are the least aware of it, at least not at first. Food stuck in between our teeth, stains on our clothes, our hair disheveled, buttons not buttoned correctly, zippers not zipped correctly…(that one is really unsettling), or saying something so completely and totally off-the-wall that the minute it comes out of your mouth you knew you really blew it! It is those times you may feel a lot like Charlie Brown who once said, “When I’m right no one remembers but when I’m wrong no one forgets.”
The difference between doing something embarrassing as opposed to doing something stupid is that stupidity seems to be a pattern that repeats itself. What is even more bothersome about this verse is that I can easily identify this kind of person because there are a number of them that cross my path every day—some may even share my DNA. (That is not a pleasant thought).
Solomon has spent a great amount of time and effort in defining the difference between wisdom and folly. Or, let us put it into a greater context, between right and wrong. He has done so by attempting to give them a personality—character. See if you can get a mental picture of these two individuals.
Wisdom is the silent type. She (using Solomon’s concept) is not silent because she is shy—she is confident, self-assured. She is that way because she knows she has the truth on her side and her confidence is not based on whom she is but who God is. He is her strength and when she talks her words carry meaning and power; hope and comfort.
Folly is loud because she knows that is the only way she can be heard. She knows what she has to say has no power on its own so she is convinced that the louder she speaks the more people she will reach. The unfortunate thing about that is—it works. Allow me illustrate.
Only a couple of months ago the airwaves were saturated with updates regarding the spat between CBS and Charlie Sheen. (I can’t believe I am even talking about this.) CBS fired Sheen from the show “Two and Half Men” for his outrageous behavior in his personal life. All this did was to not only make his behavior public—he went out to prove it could get even worse. Every day for what seemed like a month there were daily updates from practically every news channel. After only a couple of days the thought struck me, “how is this news worthy?” How did we get to the point where we are even giving this kind of behavior air-time? Why? Because it is “loud” and people are listening. You want another disturbing fact? The character Sheen played on the show mirrored his real life—a loud, womanizing, alcoholic. And the show was (and still is) one of the most popular on television. And what is even worse—it is considered a “comedy.”
The Christian life (what I would call true Christianity) is never portrayed in prime-time television. There is not a single character that I have seen in the past few years that would even come close to being a Bible-believing, spirit-filled Child of God. The only show that was even remotely close was “Touched by an Angel” and it was taken off the air several years ago.
In conclusion, I would like to relate this story I heard a few years ago. A farmer went to town to hear a speech by a man running for congress. He was gone a rather long time so when he arrived home his wife asked, “where have you been?”
“I went to listen to this feller runnin’ for congress.” he answered.
“For three hours!! What does he plan to do?”
“I don’t rightly know…he talked a lot but he didn’t say much.” Well said my friend…well said!
Pastor J. T. Carnell