Proverbs 14.18
“The simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.”
This verse follows from the previous one. It contrasts gullible people (the simple) with those who have discernment (the prudent). If you lack discernment and are gullible, you are susceptible to being deceived by the deceitful schemes of those who plan evil. As a result, you will inherit folly. You will embrace things that aren’t true, which will inevitably lead to problems.
But if you are prudent and discerning, then you are able to detect statements and assertions that aren’t true. You are able to distinguish right from wrong. You will recognize false claims, and you will not be deceived by manipulative schemers.
This verse could not be more important for our time and place in history, and it fits with our emphasis last week on discernment.
Breaking News! Everyone has an opinion and a platform, and every day we are bombarded with stories, articles, blogs, tweets, and sound-bites that make a mind-numbing flurry of claims, counter-claims, criticisms, assertions, declarations, and announcements.
Navigating through this blizzard of information and noise requires great discernment and discipline, because many of the messages are designed to appeal to your passions. The intent of these manipulative messages is not to inform you with truth; rather, the goal is to draw you in by confirming your existing perceptions and feelings .. which is a dangerous thinking error called “confirmation bias”.
Confirmation bias occurs when you look for and find only information that supports your existing opinion or perspective. It is selective perception. It’s when you only look for confirming evidence and don’t consider disconfirming evidence.
The big problem is that when you lack discernment, you are unaware that you lack discernment, which almost guarantees you will fall into the trap of confirmation bias. When you are unaware, you are unaware that you are unaware.
It is a devastating doom-loop.
This is a continuation of a core message we saw in three other verses in chapter 14:
“The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deceiving.” (Proverbs 14.8). It sounds funny to say, but foolish people are fooled by their foolishness. They are unaware that they are unaware. The big problem is that they don’t self-evaluate; they don’t challenge their own thinking and assumptions.
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” (Proverbs 14.12). This describes falsehood that is disguised as self-validated truth. Believing something to be true does not make it true, nor does doubting something make it false. Truth exists independent of what someone thinks or how they feel. “Truth” is that which corresponds to what is, not to what someone thinks or feels.
This is one of the biggest cultural challenges of our time: People tend to believe that strong conviction validates whether something is true or false. But again, and we can’t say this strongly enough, truth is not determined by strength of emotion or confidence of thought. Truth exists independent of anyone’s thoughts, feelings, or perceptions.
The great question that confronts every person is this: Does what I think or how I feel conform to what is objectively true?
This is not merely a question of philosophical theory; it is a question with serious, real-world implications. Solomon warns that falsehood disguised as self-validated truth will eventually lead to “death.” Serious indeed!
“The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps.”(Proverbs 14:15). Again, if you lack discernment and are gullible, you are susceptible to being deceived by the deceitful schemes of those who plan evil. As a result, you will inherit folly. You will embrace things that aren’t true, which will inevitably lead to problems.
If you are prudent and discerning, then you are able to detect false statements and identify assertions that aren’t true. You are disciplined in your thinking and able to distinguish right from wrong. You will recognize false claims, and you will not be deceived by manipulative schemers.
In summary, don’t be simple and gullible. Trust God and develop the discipline of discernment. Don’t believe everything you think.
