Posts
“A Fool’s
Donkey”
By Susanne
Scheppmann
Key Verse:
Proverbs
19:1, “Better a poor man whose walk is blameless than a fool whose lips are
perverse.” (NIV)
Devotion:
Eccentric
people can make us laugh. They say and
do funny things. Sometimes they appear
foolish in our eyes. Have you ever
appeared foolish to someone? I most
certainly have.
At
the beginning of the New Year, I decided I would exercise more. A three-mile walk each day became my
goal. I enlisted my two tiny Shih Tzu
dogs to help me achieve my fitness goal.
I enjoy walking with my dogs but they both have arthritis in their hind
legs. So, I devised an ingenious
solution with the help of an old twin baby stroller. I plopped my dogs in the dilapidated stroller
and squinted into bright morning sun. I
decided to grab my sunglasses and off we went.
About
two miles into my hike, I saw a lady with a darling Maltese puppy prancing
beside her. She appeared somewhat
startled as I approached. I grinned and
said, “I know it’s ridiculous pushing these dogs in a baby stroller, but they
can’t walk very far.” She nodded rather
curtly. She snatched her tiny fluffy dog
up in her arms and strode away without another word.
After
my invigorating exercise, I came home quite pleased with my ingenuity. I lifted the dogs out of the twin
stroller. I took off my sunglasses and
placed them on the kitchen counter. To
my surprise and horror, one of the dark lenses had fallen out. I realized how foolish I must have
looked. Strolling two dogs in a baby
stroller and staring out of sunglasses with a missing lens. No wonder the woman grabbed her dog and
high-tailed it away from me!
I
laughed until my sides ached. Although I
looked and acted foolishly, it did no harm to anyone.
Unfortunately,
some of our behaviors hurt others. One
of the most common themes throughout the Bible is the foolish use of our
tongue. We are warned not to use our
tongue to bless God and then curse men.
(James 3:9-10)
Do
you recall Balaam in the book of Numbers?
King Balak of Moab wanted Balaam to curse the Israelites, but God
commanded that Balaam bless them. The
story goes on that Balaam keeps trying to figure out a way to bypass the will
of God. Eventually, Balaam’s donkey
speaks up.
When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she
lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat her with his staff. Then the
Lord opened the donkey's mouth, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done
to you to make you beat me these three times?"
Balaam answered the donkey, "You have made
a fool of me! If I had a sword in my
hand, I would kill you right now."
(Numbers 22:27-29 NIV)
Balaam’s
own foolish decisions made him a fool, not the donkey’s behaviors. Balaam desired to use his tongue to curse
God’s people. The donkey, although only
a beast, held more wisdom than Balaam.
Unfortunately,
more times than I care to admit my tongue has made a fool of me. Words flew from my mouth, only to be heard by
the very person whom I had mentioned unkindly.
Other times I believed that only my opinion on a subject could be
correct. Soon enough I discovered I
didn’t even know what I was talking about.
Yes, I have been a fool with folly falling from my lips.
However,
I do desire to be a woman of wisdom—one who heeds her words. I want to be like the woman of Proverbs
31:26. “She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.”
I
may behave foolishly by walking my dogs in a baby stroller. I might appear like a fool wearing sunglasses
with only one lens. However, I pray that
my tongue will speak wisdom. I certainly
never want to give cause for a donkey to speak to me!
Prayer:
Father
God, help me learn to control my foolish tongue. Remind me that my words can make me look
foolish to others. Convict of the sin of
gossip that will destroy my witness of Your Faithfulness in my life. I ask the Holy Spirit to take control of my
tongue, so that words of wisdom flow from it.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Application steps:
Read
James 3:1-12. Then answer the following
questions.
What
is one of the characteristics of a perfect person? (Verse 2)
How
is the tongue described? (Verses 6-8)
Why
does James tell us we should not curse anyone? (Verse 9)
What
comparisons does James give concerning the tongue? (Verses 10-12)
Refection points:
How
do I use my tongue foolishly?
How
do I use words of wisdom?
Does
God ever think I needed a donkey to speak to me?
Power verses:
Proverbs
18:2, “A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own
opinions.” (NIV)
Proverbs
18:13, “He who answers before listening--that is his folly and his shame.”
(NIV)
Proverbs
19:1, “Better a poor man whose walk is blameless than a fool whose lips are
perverse.” (NIV)
Proverbs 13:16, “Every prudent man acts
out of knowledge, but a fool exposes his folly.” (NIV)
1
Peter 3:10, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his
tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.” (NIV)
© 2006 by Susanne Scheppmann. All rights reserved.
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