For decades, our family has put a large puzzle together over the Christmas season. For us, it is an enjoyable project. It encourages us to take time out of busy schedules to simply spend time together and visit. But there is also a sense of satisfaction as, one by one, pieces of the puzzle are added, and we see a clear picture emerge. In the book of Proverbs, God gives us a clear picture, though an unflattering one, of a fool.

A fool can easily be identified by at least ten characteristics described by King Solomon. A fool “refuseth instruction” to the detriment of his own soul (Proverbs 15:32). He just won’t listen when given wise counsel. The “words of the pure are pleasant words” (15:26) but, the words of “a fool’s lips enter into contention” (18:6-8) and, it is to his own “destruction.” He tends to be looking for trouble and is usually harsh in his words. “He that uttereth a slander is a fool” (10:18). Criticizing others has become his favorite sport. “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes” (12:15) and, “it is as sport to a fool to do mischief” (10:23). He seems to always think he is right and that wrong is right. A “fool layeth open his folly” (13:16) and, perhaps he does so because “the fool rageth and is (over) confident” (14:16). As someone once said: “It is better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.” Proverbs also conveys the concepts that a fool will not heed reproof (17:10), speaks when he should listen (17:28), will be continually “meddling” to stir up strife (20:3) and “uttereth all his mind” (29:11). This sounds like a busybody who delights to gossip continually about others or inserts themself into the affairs of others

As we look carefully at this picture of a fool, we should each ask ourselves if any of these qualities describe us. If so, we should do something about it. Take one or two of these practices you know you need to work on, ask the Lord to enable you to change your pattern, then ask a godly loved one to hold you accountable in this area. In so doing, allow God to transform you.

In Mayo Clinic’s website article, “Addiction: Social Commentary, I Hate Drugs,” is a heartrending testimony from the husband of an addict. He writes, “I HATE DRUGS…Soma is destroying the woman I love, it is affecting our relationship…It is taking the light, the life, the joy out of my woman…I can’t do any more to help her see what it is doing to her…I am so deeply in love with her, but I hate this drug.” As we read these words, we can understand why he has such a hatred of drugs.

Did you know there are things Christians should hate? In fact, truly loving God necessitates hating what He hates. In Proverbs 6:16-19 the Lord tells us, “These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto Him.” “A proud look” is first on the list. Pride was at the root of Satan’s fall (Isaiah 14:13) and it will likewise lead to our rebellion. God hates “a lying tongue.” Just as the lies of Satan ensnared Adam and Eve with grievous woes, lies still wreak havoc on those who are victimized by lies. “Hands that shed innocent blood” is next. God hates it when greed or power leads to violence or the death of another. “A heart that deviseth wicked imaginations” makes God’s list because it leads others into the path of sin and hardness against the Lord. “Feet that be swift in running to mischief” are also hated by God. It is one thing to be overtaken by sin but quite another to intentionally run into the arms of sin. “A false witness” was such a detestable sin under the Law that the Lord instituted divine penalties as a strong deterrent (Deuteronomy 19:16-21; Proverbs 19:5). Perhaps the most heinous of the sins on this list today is: “he that soweth discord among brethren.” This surfaces in the form of gossip, character assassination, false accusations, half-truths, attempts to make others discontent, and negativity. Because unity among believers is so precious, yet so fragile, God says He hates this horrible sin, and we should too.

Do the sins in this list sound familiar? If you are practicing any of these, we urge you to stop immediately. If you are tempted to go down this path, don’t. When someone seeks to draw you into one of these sins, let them know that God hates this kind of activity. Let’s choose to hate what God hates.

In my sophomore year of high school, my favorite teacher was Mr. Wilcox, who taught biology. During tests or exams, he always had students spread out with empty seats between them. On one occasion, he put a star basketball player, Barry, and me, on the front row. Oddly, he placed the answer key within our view. It was a real temptation. At the end of the hour, the tests were gathered and graded before we left. To our surprise, only the first three questions were correct on the answer key. In effect, Mr. Wilcox was watching to see who would cheat. I was so glad I had resisted the temptation to look on the answer key, and Barry wished he hadn’t looked.

Over and over in Scripture, the Lord reminds us that He sees all we do in this life. He tells us in Proverbs 5:21, “For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He pondereth all his goings.” One of Job’s friends, Elihu, grasped this principle. He said, “For His (God’s) eyes are upon the ways of man, and He seeth all his goings” (Job 34:21). Through the pen of the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord told Israel, “For Mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from My face, neither is their iniquity hid from Mine eyes” (Jeremiah 16:17). Jeremiah 32:18-19 explains why God is watching the conduct of all men, “…the Great, the Mighty God, the Lord of hosts, is His name…for Thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” Revelation 20:12 implies God keeps an accurate written record of every individual. When John saw the lost, small and great, gathered before the future Great White Throne of Judgment, he wrote, “the books were opened…and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” There must be a similar record for the Body of Christ because each of us will “receive the things done in his body…whether it be good or bad” (II Corinthians 5:10). The issue here is NOT punishment but accountability. “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12).

Knowing God sees all we do is intended to be a deterrent from doing wrong and a motivation to do right. Live today knowing God is watching.

Have you ever felt like God was far away, hiding His face or unwilling to answer your prayers? We have probably all felt that way at times. Even David, the man after God’s own heart, sometimes felt that way. He says so in Psalm 13:1. He asks, “How long wilt Thou forget me, O Lord? Forever? How long wilt Thou hide Thy face from me?” Again in Psalm 10:1, David writes, “Why standest Thou afar off, O Lord…?” In the Old Testament era, God had a unique relationship with the nation of Israel. They were to be His special people who would represent Him to a world who did not want to even retain the knowledge of God in their minds (Romans 1:19-32). To be God’s effective witness, they were to be a holy people who walked consistently close to Jehovah. When they, too, rebelled in unbelief, God’s judgment fell on them to draw them back to the Lord. In this context, God’s prophet told them, “…your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2). But, when God was distant from Israel, it wasn’t the Lord who had moved, it was Israel.

We need to learn the lesson that David eventually learned: not to trust our feelings, but to trust the promises of God. The Book of Psalms echoes an amazing truth: “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart…” (34:18). “The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth” (145:18). Jeremiah 23:23 confirm the same principle: “Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off?” So, regardless of what our feelings are telling us, we need to believe God’s promise that He is always near and ready to commune with us. Even to the lost, the Apostle Paul told them, “…seek the Lord…though He be not far from every one of us” (Acts 17:27).

Dear believer, God is not far from you. We sometimes drift away from Him. But in His unconditional love, He is always near and ready for close fellowship with those who have trusted Christ alone for eternal life. Believe He is near. Reach out to Him in prayer and read His Word. If you do, eventually your emotions will confirm how close the Lord is. But don’t trust emotions—trust God’s promises!

In an article entitled “Incompetence,” author Stephen Greenspan, Ph.D. recounts an exchange he had with Milton Eisenhower, who was the brother of Dwight Eisenhower, then president of the United States. At the time, Mr. Greenspan considered “Ike” to be a man of only ordinary intelligence because he considered his press conferences to be “inelegant and characterized by tortured syntax.” But his brother Milton defended Ike, saying he demonstrated more “common sense” than was common to men or other politicians. After considering several pointed examples, Mr. Greenspan was won over to the conclusion that Ike was indeed wiser than most.

Many of us may have the concept in our minds that in order to be wise we need to be an aged man or woman. But, as far as the Lord is concerned, nearly anyone, including those with more limited years and experiences, can become truly wise. The Books of Psalms and Proverbs give us a vivid picture of a wise individual. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10), so the pursuit of wisdom must be built on the foundation of a genuine reverence of the Lord. A wise individual then “will hear…wise counsels” (Proverbs 1:5), whether it be his “father’s instruction” (13:1), or wise “counsel” from others (12:15; 8:33). A wise individual will be one who “departeth from evil” (14:16), and receives “reproof” when warranted (15:31; 17:10). In fact, a wise man will even “love” one who rebukes him so that he might get back on the right track. A wise individual “gathereth [wealth] in [the] summer [of his life, while health and strength remain]” (10:5). A wise individual “refraineth his lips” (10:19; 29:11) rather than saying whatever is on his mind. Finally, “he that winneth souls is wise”(11:30). Therefore, a wise individual seeks to lead many to eternal salvation by faith in Christ apart from all works.

If a portrait were being painted of you using only these positive points describing wisdom, would it be a vivid picture with many detailed lines? What quality, outlined in Psalms or Proverbs, would the Savior have you draw into your character today? Pick one of the above and put it into practice right away and share that goal with another believer.