ADMONITION is continued, how to deal with the senseless; and it is the more needed as such men abound, and wisdom from above is requisite to deal with them for good. Nor are sluggards left unnoticed.
“As a bag of gems in a stone-heap, so is he that giveth honor to a fool.
A thorn that goeth up into the hand of a drunkard, so is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
An archer that woundeth all, so is he that hireth the fool, and he that hireth them that pass by.
As a dog that returneth to his vomit, a fool returneth to his folly.
Hast thou seen a man wise in his own eyes? More hope of a fool than of him.
The sluggard saith, A lion in the way; a lion in the streets
The door turneth on its hinges, so the sluggard on his bed.
The sluggard burieth his hand in [a] dish; it wearieth him to bring it again to his mouth.
The sluggard [is] wiser in his own eyes than seven that answer discreetly” (vers. 8-16).
As one devoid of sense is unfit for trust and incapable, so is he unworthy of honor, and as much out of place as a bag of gems in a heap of stones, or as the A. V. renders it a stone bound up in a sling, a danger to those at hand.
Again a pointedly wise saying, a proverb in the mouth of the senseless is as a thorn going up into a drunkard's hand. Instead of instructing others, it torments himself to no profit.
So also he that hires the fool or untried casual is as an archer that wounds every one, instead of hitting the mark. He is a source of hurt and danger to all.
Nor is there any hope of better things, unless the fool repent and learn wisdom from above. Left to himself he is as a dog that returns to his vomit, so he to his folly.
The wise are lowly and dependent on the only wise God. The foolish man is wise in his own eyes; he who only adds conceit to folly is the most hopeless of men.
But slothfulness is an evil to be dreaded, even if a man be far from a fool. And it is no uncommon thing for one in other respects wise to be apprehending a peril where there is none. It is because he is a sluggard, and because he shirks a duty to be done, he sees imminent danger, and cries, A lion in the way! a lion in the streets!
And what more graphic of the sluggard on his bed of ease than the door turning on his hinges! The believer has his new nature of Him, apart from whom no sparrow falls, and who counts the very hairs of his own head. The sluggard yields to the nothingarianism of self-pleasing in its lowest form.
Another vivid likeness is of the sluggard when he rises to take his meals. In his listlessness he buries his hand, not in his bosom but in a dish, and he is weary of so much as lifting it to his mouth. From such a one who could look for gratitude to God or kindness to a suffering fellowman?
And the sluggard, like the fool, does not fail to be wise in his own eyes, yea to count himself wiser than seven men that answer with discretion. He is so satisfied with himself, that he avoids any diligence to learn; which is all well for men, but needless for him He is a genius, and can afford to take his unfailing siesta. So it is that self-conceit flatters those who dislike work and are ambitious of a position only due to those who do not shirk labor, which is a wholesome discipline for man as he is; but it generally ends in their own ruin and the trial of those related to them.