Day Twenty-Six

Proverbs 26:8 (Dissected and Defined):
As he that bindeth (restrains) a stone in a sling, so is he that giveth honour (esteem) to a fool (one who knows right, but chooses wrong).

Daily Devo Paraphrase: The Israelite army was facing a battle with a literal giant of a nation—the Philistines.  The people were petrified of the enemies’ well-trained army.  Yet, along comes a young shepherd boy, David.  He bravely stands before King Saul asking permission to face Goliath.

No one else was willing to take the challenge to defeat the enemy, so King Saul allowed David to fight the giant.  With confidence in God for the victory, David ran for the battlefield, where his opponent awaited him.  He stopped at a stream and picked up five smooth stones as his “weapons of choice.”

Can you see in your mind’s eye the ensuing victory?  Giant Goliath is standing in the middle of a field, laughing at the absolute hilarity of what is sure to be a quick win for his side.  David is running toward this monster of a man with the armor of pauper’s clothing and a weapon of a sling and stone.  As Goliath’s laughter rings through the hills that conceal the frightened soldiers, David prepares his weapon and releases the stone.

What a victory!  But, replay that scene and imagine David running toward Goliath and instead of prepping his weapon, he were to securely tie the stone to the sling!  How pointless that would be! 
He would have to throw the sling as well as the stone to maintain its value as a weapon.  Of course, then he would have lost his weapon as well.  What an embarrassment!

Likewise, giving esteem to one who knows what’s right yet chooses to do otherwise is just as embarrassing.  It’s like going to battle with a worthless weapon.  Even if you utilize the weapon, you will have to lose it in order for it to be effective. When we esteem foolish people by placing them in prominent roles in the battle, they are going to make mistakes and hurt us and themselves along the way.

So remember, it’s best to choose stones that are smooth, not the rough ones which tend to get snagged in the sling just at the time you need them to sail smoothly.