“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but the foolish despise wisdom and instruction” – Proverbs 1:7
Many writers in the Bible view people through different frameworks. In Hebrews, people are seen as immature or mature. The Apostle Paul divides people into Jews and Gentile, from this distinction, he considers them to be justified or condemned. Jesus often distinguishes people by their faith or lack thereof, being for Him or against Him, sheep or goats, or wolves.
These different frameworks are not mutually exclusive, they represent different perspectives or intentions of the part of the person writing.
In Proverbs, Solomon organizes people into three main categories : the wise, the foolish, and the simple. These categories are not dependent on age, class, race, gender, or economic status. They are determined by one’s direction in reference to the Lord.
Three different kinds of people:
- Those people who are moving toward the Lord are called wise. These are not perfect or intelligent people, but people who will gain understanding and change their life based on what they hear in scripture.
- Those who are moving away from the Lord are called foolish. These are not ignorant or uneducated people, but do not want to change. They think they are doing just fine one their own and they don’t want help, especially from the Lord.
- Those who are not moving at all with respect to the Lord, because of age, inexperience, or incapacity are called simple.
When these crossroads are before us we have a choice to make, however no one can remain simple forever. It’s okay for a baby to make messes, but by the time they are adults more will be expected of them. A person cannot remain still a person who does will end up clinging to wrong or false ideas being misguided, and rebellious and turn away from God.
From Pity to Praise 