Posts Tagged: "You eat what you are"

“The Quest for Knowledge. Feeding on Foolishness, and the Depth of Proverbs, Part 2”

On November 19, 2020 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

“The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feed on folly.” (Proverbs 15:14, English Standard Version)

“You are what you eat.”  (A common saying.)

“You eat what you are.”  (My own not-so-ancient proverb)

In yesterday’s post I unpacked a bit of what’s going on in the first line of Proverbs 15:14 (the part about the understanding person who continues to seek knowledge).  Today, let’s have a look at the fool.  Sometimes, we all act like fools, so this is an important matter to consider.  If I want to see a fool, I don’t generally need binoculars, just a mirror.  If the mirror fits, wear it!

As with many proverbs—both those in the Bible and others—this proverb is very terse.  The business about the fool feeding on folly involves the mouth, and it might also mean that the fool’s speech is junk food.  (Think of our expression “He’s feeding you a line!”)

Quite likely though, the proverb means that the fool is nourished (sort of) by foolishness.  Hence my flipping of the saying that led off this post: “You are what you eat,” becomes “You eat what you are.”

One of the many problems with acting foolishly is that such acting becomes self-perpetuating.  The more you act foolishly, the more you crave foolishness.  Wisdom may come with age, but only if you are seeking it diligently.  If you act foolishly, you will feed on foolishness.

I say again, mostly to myself but also to you, Dear Reader: Be careful what you do and what you eat!  Because, you and I really are what we eat, and we do eat what we are!

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