What Do You Take Pleasure In? Part One (Proverbs 18:2)
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Proverbs 18:2
A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,
but only in expressing his opinion.
Today and tomorrow, we’re asking the same big question: What do we take pleasure in?
Because Proverbs makes something clear – fools and the wise take pleasure in very different things.
Today, we see the fool. “A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.”
To the fool, wisdom isn’t a joy – it’s a burden. Something to avoid. But expressing their own opinion? Oh, they love that.
You ever met someone like that? Someone who doesn’t listen to understand, just listens to respond? They interrupt, cut you off, and somehow every conversation becomes a monologue for their thoughts and feelings.
This verse is a warning against having a closed mind and an open mouth. But the way of wisdom is the opposite: an open mind, a closed mouth, and a heart ready to learn.
Fools treat conversations like a stage – every moment is just a chance to take the mic. But wisdom pulls up a chair and listens.
It’s painfully clear from this verse – and honestly, from personal experience – that fools love to talk. They’re not interested in what you think, and they certainly aren’t interested in what God thinks.
And look – nobody wants to be around that person. But here’s the thing… we’re not immune from becoming that person.
In line with the Proverbs we’ve been walking through this week, we’ve asked: Have I trusted my plans more than God’s? That’s just another way of asking: Have I valued my opinion about my life more than His?
And the truth is, when we value our opinions more than God’s Word – when we live like our perspective is the one that matters most – we slip right into the role of the fool in this verse.
Which brings us back to the question:
What do we take pleasure in?
Where in your life are you more eager to be heard than to understand? (In other words, where do you find more pleasure in expressing yourself than in listening to wisdom?)
Let’s pray that the Lord would free us from taking pleasure in ourselves and our own thoughts, refusing the Word and ways of God in favor of our own opinions.
And let’s also look forward to tomorrow – because we’ll see, as you might expect, exactly what the wise take pleasure in.
