Delights and Fools

(Proverbs 19:10 KJV)  Delight is not seemly for a fool; much less for a servant to have rule over princes.

How does this verse apply to me?  I have to get up and go to work.  I struggle to make ends meet.  Every month my wife wonders how we are going to be able to eat for more than a few days.  What do I know of “delight" (luxury NASB) (8588)?  Actually, quite a lot.  On the way to work this morning I was comparing the 54 Chevy I bought from my grandmother 40 years ago with my 19 year old Cadillac.  Forgetting about electronically controlled mirrors and digitally calculated gas mileage, that old Chevy didn’t even come with a heater.  At the time I thought it was a prince of a car.  Think about the appliances that your grandmother never heard of, let alone thought she could afford.  We know luxury.  How do we handle it?

And who are you calling a “fool” (3684)?  I know you aren’t talking about me.  Oh, you are.  Well, you don’t really know me.  Oh, you do.  Any time we see the word “fool” we need to do a little self check.

Today the self check is about how we handle our luxuries.  God has blessed us.  We have leisure and health that was beyond imagination in the days of Solomon.  We get upset when we have to change the batteries in our remote control.  Every Monday I tell someone that I need a day off.  Let us start to be grateful.  The first step to handling our luxury is to be grateful.  Once we are in gratitude mode we might see some ways to use our blessings with wisdom, not folly.

So?  Look around.  Check your garage.  Look in the pantry.  Go through your closet.  Look at your family.  Count your Bibles.  See if you have a copy of the Constitution.  And be blessed at the luxury that God has given to you.