The simple believes everything,
but the prudent gives thought to his steps.
16 One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil,
but a fool is reckless and careless.
In January 1945, a medical doctor named Gordon A. Eadie wrote regarding the rapidly closing WWII, “If they don’t stand for something, they will fall for anything”. Our proverb says that the simple believe everything which leads us to believe that education is the answer to finding truth. There is one problem. In the years leading up to WWII, one nation led the world in literacy and the quality of university education. That nation was Germany and its failure to stand up for something led to the downfall of nearly everything. They were arrogant. They were proud. In the end, they were simple. They simply did not believe they could be fooled. The simple fell for it. The prudent got out of there. So many have said, “Never again!”, but one look at the news tells us otherwise.
Today, billions of people have rejected a biblical worldview for that which denies truth, mocks the thought of evil and virtue, and puts all their stock in how one ‘feels”. Francis Schaeffer predicted that once the Church was removed as an influence, the academic elite would fill the vacuum and he was right. Now, history is rarely taught except through the lens of oppression vs. oppressor, Christianity being the main tyrant. Literature has met with a similar fate. No matter how educated our society becomes, this proverb will still be true. The simple believes on authority. If the professor says it, it must be true. The wise uses caution and questions what is taught. It is a simple solution to ask…
What does the Bible say about it?
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church