Mensa Otabil - Understanding (10/23/2025)
This week, we'll be looking at practical wisdom from the Book of Proverbs, and we've learned how to practically live our lives as Christians in the choices we make and how to integrate God into our plans. That's what the Book of Proverbs does; it helps us live our lives in a way that practically exemplifies our faith. We are in chapter 16, and we're looking at verse 22. "Understanding is a wellspring of life to him who has it, but the correction of fools is folly."
I like the contrasts that come from the Book of Proverbs. Some of them have almost a humorous tone to them, and this is one of those. It says that when you have understanding, it's like a wellspring of life. This means that when a person is humble, teachable, and easy to instruct, they learn from their mistakes and gain wisdom by observing what goes on in other people's lives. Understanding is making meaning out of the things that are happening around you. If somebody falls down, you have to learn a lesson from it; or if you fall down, learn a lesson from it. When a door shuts, learn a lesson from it. That's how you gain understanding.
The passage says that when we have understanding, it brings life to us. It's a wellspring of life; in other words, your life will flourish if you have a spirit of understanding. God expects each one of us to seek understanding, meaning, purpose, and significance in all the things around us. When we see the universe, we must learn from it; we must learn from nature, from the scriptures, and from God. We learn from Jesus Christ and the apostles. We gain understanding by observing and making choices based on the lessons we learn.
It then tells us the opposite: "But the correction of fools is folly." In other words, for fools, who are always contrasted with people of understanding, it is folly to try to correct them. It's a waste of time. A fool is a person who never takes instruction and never learns anything. A fool will experience the same thing repeatedly without drawing any lessons, and the same mistakes keep happening. If you're not careful, a fool may even spiritualize their problems because they keep recurring, unaware of their repeated errors. Thus, it is folly; you can't even help them; you can correct them, but it's futile. A fool's mind is set in one way, and it is impossible to help them.
On the other hand, the person of understanding bubbles with life. Their life improves; they get better, and they learn how to solve their problems. If they're in a marriage, they don't face the same marital problems repeatedly; their marriage gets better. If they're parents, they learn how to raise their children well. If they are pastors, they learn from their mistakes and lead well. If they are business owners, they learn from their mistakes and improve. They are a wellspring. But the person who thinks everything they do is right, who never makes mistakes, who believes they are perfect in all their ways, and who never learns anything from their bad experiences exists in folly. It is impossible to help them.
I hope, as you read this, that you place yourself in the understanding column, not in the fool column. If you do not, your life will not be a wellspring; it will be painful, with no benefit and no lessons to learn. May the Lord help us to be people of understanding who can make our lives wellsprings of life. Let's pray together.
Heavenly Father, in You are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I choose understanding over folly. In Jesus' name, amen and amen. Well, I'll catch you again tomorrow. I'm Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.