Our appetites drive us, but our appetites distort our identity. Our perceived identity shapes our decisions, and our choices define our lives. Given this, the question, “What am I hungry for?” becomes very important. It gives us insight into our present state and predicts our direction and destination in the future. The passage for today is short, but it has long legs under it. It is found in Proverbs chapter 15.

Prov 15:14 

When you think about this passage for a while, it starts to sound like a chicken-and-egg problem. It seems you would need knowledge to understand, but if you have understanding, you seek knowledge. Folly and the fool have a similarly interconnected relationship in this verse. These descriptions of the wise and the foolish purposely interconnect a person’s wisdom(or foolishness) with the things they hunger for.

So, the purpose of this proverb is to get us thinking, “What am I hungry for?” “What do I seek?” and “What do I feed on?”

Hunger

The first thing we need to clarify is what is intended by the phrase “him who has understanding.” The Book of Proverbs is a collection of ancient proverbs focused on leading the foolish to wisdom. So this phrase describes the wise. It is the wise person who has understanding and the wise person who seeks or hungers for knowledge.

Our hunger drives us, for better or worse. This passage explains that the hunger for knowledge drives the wise person. But this knowledge is not simple information. Wisdom consists of more than the accumulation of information. Wisdom is the ability to apply information at the right time and in the right way for the right reason.

We are what we eat

The second half of this passage parallels and contrasts the first. But unlike the wise person, the fool hungers for folly. Taken together, the message here is simple but very challenging. Our appetites define us. The things we “eat,” so to speak, either lead to an increase in wisdom or foolishness. In proverbs, foolishness is not considered neutral or harmless. Foolishness is the road to death.

How does this help?

I see this verse, and others like it, as diagnostic tools. It was inspired and preserved for us by God to shine a light on things we often fail to consider. This proverb is not written as a question, but it nevertheless asks us some very disturbing questions about who we are and what motivates us. What do we hunger for? Information? What kind of information do we hunger for? That which leads to wisdom? Or do we have a Gossip’s(Fool’s) appetite for the inappropriate behavior of others? Do we seek to learn wisdom? Or are we just looking for reasons to support our own opinions? Are we even teachable?

Prov 15:12 

I don’t like to think of myself as a “Scoffer” or “Fool,” but do I like to be corrected? Do I go to the wise or to the media for answers? What entertains me? I don’t like my answers to these questions. I wonder what God thinks. Proverbs stand for thousands of years, asking the same questions of all of us. That’s what makes them so valuable.

Our world changes constantly and rarely, it seems, for the better. But these proverbs are an anchor that can hold us steady when the world around us is anything but. This week, let’s help each other. Our tongues are powerful weapons for good if we use them to encourage others on the path of wisdom, which is the way of life.

Jesus is Lord, Jesus is alive, and the kingdom of God has begun! Together, let’s demonstrate those truths to a lost and hopeless world this week.

Have a great week!