Proverbs 12:15

Proverbs 12:15 "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise."

There are many differences between a foolish soul and a wise soul from how they behave to what they believe.  At the heart of all these differences is how they SEE.  A fool looks in the mirror and trusts the person he sees whereas a wise person looks in the mirror and remains skeptical of the person he sees.  

According to Proverbs 22:15, we are all born with foolishness bound in our hearts.  No one is born wise, which is why we’re instructed over and over in the book of Proverbs to “GET” wisdom (Proverbs 4:5,7; 16:16; 17:16; 19:8).  Because we start life out with foolishness, God has given us multiple tools to untie that crippling handicap and remove it from our hearts.  First, He gives us a conscience.  That faint but disapproving voice from WITHIN speaks any time we do, think or say something foolish.  At that convicting point, we have the opportunity to hearken to that voice or silence that voice.  Secondly, God gives us authority in the form of parents, grandparents, teachers, coaches and other societal forms of authority.  These disapproving voices from WITHOUT usually speak when we do or say something foolish.  At that uncomfortable point, we have the opportunity to hearken to these voices or ignore them.  What we do with these inner and outer voices will determine if we’re going to continue life with foolishness bound in our hearts or if we’re going to untie that foolishness and replace it with wisdom.

The young souls who learn to silence and ignore these voices will continue to think they’re always right.  The person who has learned to trust the person in the mirror over the conscious and over the authorities in their life will continue to think they know better than everyone else.  This is what makes a fool a fool.  When a person is never skeptical of his own assessment of himself, he is officially a fool.  When a person is only ever skeptical of the assessments others give of him, he is most definitely a fool.  Fools walk through life with a “NO SOLICITING” sign on their chest.  They don’t want to hear anyone else’s advice because they don’t think they need it.  Fools don’t want anyone’s suggestions because they truly believe that they’ve got everything figured out.  They don’t want a doorhanger that offers a church because whatever they’re doing in their religion, it’s right.  They don’t want someone to put a marriage flyer in their mailbox because whatever they’re doing in their marriage, it’s right.  They don’t want an email advertising lawncare because whatever they’re doing on the lawn, it’s right.  They don’t want a gospel tract handed to them because whatever they’re doing for eternity, it’s right.  Fools go through life uninterested in a better way because their way is always and only right in their own eyes.
 
Fools are masters at avoiding or ignoring instruction.  Fools have learned how to duct tape the mouth of the conscious and construct a conduit between their two ears so that whatever comes in one goes out the other.  Fools figure out how to make a spouse’s assessment of them sound wildly off-base.  Fools figure out how to endure a sermon by finding any inconsistency or hypocrisy and disregarding the Biblical instruction altogether.  A fool is extremely skilled at finding any shred of evidence he thinks will confirm what the man in the mirror tells him.  The man in the mirror is his ONLY counselor and he loves him because he ONLY reassures him that what he is thinking is right.  The man in the mirror always supports his belief that everyone else is wrong.

A wise soul lives a very different life.  A wise person has learned at some point that what he thinks is right is NOT always right.  A wise person has learned that he and his conscious aren’t always on the same page and if he were honest, he would acknowledge that the conscious is always right in those instances.  A wise person has learned that disapproving voices from older, wiser people are often right.  These realities and experiences shake a wise man’s confidence in himself and ultimately expose a big problem – that he has a deceitful heart that intentionally makes wrong look right in order to protect his ego.  Once a person learns this life-changing truth, the knot that holds foolishness in the heart begins to be untied.  From this point on, a wise person knows that the person in the mirror is not to be trusted.  That doesn’t mean that the person in the mirror is always wrong but it does mean that we need outside voices to help vet the person in the mirror.  This pursuit of counsel and outside input allows for wise perspective and insight.  This pursuit of counsel welcomes sound suggestion and righteous recommendation.

WISE couples ask each other for their assessment of one another.  WISE leaders ask their followers for their assessment and input on matters.  WISE children ask their parents for their direction and counsel on things.  WISE friends ask their friends to be brutally honest and give them accurate appraisals.
 
No WISE spouse will be annoyed by unsolicited marital suggestions from another person.  No WISE child will be angered by unsolicited parental input.  No WISE friend will be offended by unsolicited friendly advice.  No WISE homeowner will be bothered by unsolicited home services.  No WISE parishioner will be irritated by unsolicited pastoral counsel.  The wise welcome outside input because they’ve learned not to trust the person in the mirror. Only a fool would think he’s always right and only a fool would think the man in the mirror is the smartest man in the world.