How Unfitting is Honor for a Fool

Proverbs 26:1:  "Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, honor is not fitting for a fool."

At the beginning of the book of Proverbs, the fool is identified as one who "despises wisdom and discipline."  There is no fear of the Lord in this person's heart; rather he is wayward and complacent, filled with a passion to satisfy his own wanton desires and lusts (Proverbs 1:7, 29-32).  And though the fool believes his actions are right, in the end his ways will bring ruin and the rejection of the Lord (Proverbs 10:29-30).

As I read through these passages in Proverbs, I am reminded at how our world has given honor to foolish people, who do not follow the Lord.   Now, these people may have accomplished some feat or attained some goal, but they live their lives with such selfish, reckless abandon that they bring no glory to God in their pursuits . . . and their lives seem to display a repeated series of topsy-turvy episodes that should bring the pity and reproach of those who have contemplated exalting such personalities.

Sometimes, our culture even esteems people for no other reason than they are popular icons, who are venerated for their physical beauty, their humor, their wit or charm, their scholastic aptitude, or even their political prowess.  And at the same time, those who desire to bring glory to God and follow His expressed will (through His Holy text of Scripture) are ridiculed as extremists and bigots, who do not follow the mainstream of society.

Inserted in the book of Proverbs is the above cited verse about the fool.  As I read through this text, several things come to mind:

1.  Snow in summer is untimely and out of place.  As beautiful as snow can be in the wintertime, when it suddenly shows itself during the time of anticipated harvest, it is quite destructive to the produce of the land.  No planter desires to see such an unexpected visit of frozen precipitation; and many times the one who has invested his time and resources into his garden will take extraordinary measures to protect his crops from the damaging effects of the snow . . . because he knows the devastating outcomes that await if he fails to take action.

2.  So too is rain an unwelcomed sight to the harvester.  To be sure, rain is a vital necessity for crops to come forth from the ground and thrive into the rich, productive fruits and vegetation that it is supposed to be.  But when torrential rains come at the time of the harvest, all is lost.  The produce is not able to withstand the effects that wind and heavy rains bring to the land, and the losses can be irrecoverable.     One can vision the sadness of the farmer as he looks heavenward with a look of somber realization that all of his efforts and resources have gone for nothing, and he begins to wonder if he will be able to provide for his family and pay the debts that he owes.  A sense of dread and uncertainty overcomes the man, as he walks away from what once promised to be a blessing; for in the end, he has been cursed by the very thing that under the right timing and circumstances would have brought blessed nourishment for his crops.  It is the twisted irony of the realization that the source of life and harvest now has brought destruction for no other reason than it was out of place.

With these powerful illustrations given in God's Word, we would do well to reconsider whom we honor.  Do we celebrate those who have yielded their lives to the LORD and are producing the fruits of obedience?  Or do we follow the trends of popular culture that seek to exalt people for things that have nothing to do with faithfulness, righteousness, and Godly integrity?   To honor such foolishness is worthless and vain.

Let is not forget the imagery of untimely snow and unwelcomed rain.  Let us be reminded that when we honor the fool, we are making a value statement as to what is of primary importance.  And if we seek to exalt things that are not honoring of God, we will fall under their alluring enticements.  It is then that we should expect to find our spiritual harvests to be ravaged by unexpected and untimely consequences.