A fool enjoys doing evil, while a discerning person delights in wisdom.
In Proverbs 10:23, Solomon writes, Doing wickedness is like sport to a fool, and so is wisdom to a man of understanding (v. 23). This proverb contrasts not only actions, but delights. What a person enjoys reveals what kind of person he is becoming.
For the fool, doing wickedness is like sport. Evil is entertainment to him. He does not merely stumble into it; he enjoys it. His heart has been shaped in such a way that what is destructive seems amusing or thrilling. This is one of the clearest signs of deep folly.
By contrast, wisdom is the delight of a man of understanding. The wise do not obey God grudgingly; they increasingly enjoy what is good. Their hearts are being trained to love righteousness. Psalm 1 describes this same reality when it says the blessed man delights in the law of the Lord.
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Proverbs 10:23 meaning
In Proverbs 10:23, Solomon writes, Doing wickedness is like sport to a fool, and so is wisdom to a man of understanding (v. 23). This proverb contrasts not only actions, but delights. What a person enjoys reveals what kind of person he is becoming.
For the fool, doing wickedness is like sport. Evil is entertainment to him. He does not merely stumble into it; he enjoys it. His heart has been shaped in such a way that what is destructive seems amusing or thrilling. This is one of the clearest signs of deep folly.
By contrast, wisdom is the delight of a man of understanding. The wise do not obey God grudgingly; they increasingly enjoy what is good. Their hearts are being trained to love righteousness. Psalm 1 describes this same reality when it says the blessed man delights in the law of the Lord.