"How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing. And fools hate knowledge?"
The implication of this proverb is that it has been too long that these various kinds of people have indulged their particular problems. They need to see that things are not getting better following the plan they are following:
According to God's assessment:
The naive cling to simple explanation when something is very complex;
Scoffers find great delight in being critical and pessimistic;
Selfish people do not want new information that would force them to change their perspective.
Make sure that you do not fall into any of these categories, clinging to a way of being and acting that keeps you from enjoying the life God gave you.
In what areas do you continue to embrace a simple explanation for a complex process: Government, Church, God, Marriage, Family, Work, etc? In order to grow in wisdom, one has to acknowledge complexity. The world is a complex interplay of things, and it is important to not lock onto a simplistic explanation of why things happened or how things work when a multitude of factors may be present
In what areas are you cynical and pessimistic? While this may make you look – from the surface – smart and sophisticated, it does not really help. Only when a person begins to offer positive solutions and get on the solution side of the equation does your contribution help. Penetrating analysis of the problem with the intention of helping solve the problem is a good thing. A critical, fault-finding, and it-will-never-work attitude is rarely helpful. It also dooms the person who adopts this attitude to an isolated life.
In what areas have you shut the door to new information because you have the conclusion you want to be true? Be careful of an unwillingness to consider other perspectives and new discoveries. It is a frightful thing when people close their mind. It means that they have become selfish and are ready to move ahead with their destructive plan.
Until tomorrow,
Gil Stieglitz