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Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You said, “If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you” (Prov 25:21–22). I praise you today as the God who loves your enemies and does good to those who hate you. You send “rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matt 5:45), and your patience with evil men is motivated by a desire for them “to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4; Rom 2:4). What a privilege it is to worship and serve a God like you! Hallelujah! Today in Your Word Today you shared with me the last of Solomon’s proverbs. Solomon dedicated many of his proverbs to a description of the person he called “a fool” (Prov 26:1, 3–12). He warned me that I should be careful how I speak to fools. I need to know when answering a fool according to his folly would lower me to his level, and when answering a fool according to his folly would keep him from being wise in his own eyes! Why should I try to keep a fool from becoming wise in his own eyes? Because you said, “Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Prov 26:12). How then should fools be handled? “A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools” (Prov 26:3). Clearly, the only thing that will separate a fool from his folly is the rod of discipline. How is it that people become fools? Solomon told me this earlier: “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him” (Prov 22:15). We all come into this world as fools! That’s why it’s so important to discipline our children and rebuke them for their folly. What happens if we don’t keep our children from their foolishness? They grow up to become a shame and a reproach. Honor is not fitting for them (Prov 26:1) and wisdom cannot instruct or guide them (Prov 26:7, 9). They learn nothing from their mistakes—they only repeat their folly (Prov 26:11). How tragic to see an adult who is nothing more than a foolish child who has grown up! Reflection “Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, ‘I am only joking!’” (Prov 26:18–19). Ouch! Am I guilty of such behavior? Request Father, it’s clear to me that discipline is the antidote for foolish thinking. Therefore, I welcome your rebuke and cherish your admonition. Correct me, I pray, and guard my soul! Thanksgiving How thankful I am for the faithful wounds of a friend like you! (Prov 27:6). May I always benefit from your open rebuke, and may your love never be hidden from me (Prov 27:5)! Praise the Lord! In Jesus’ name, Amen. Suggested Hymn: “Time Enough” — Daniel S. Warner. Meditation Verse: Proverbs 27:11.