Passage Read: Proverbs 14-17
Meditation Verse: 14:6
Thought
A scoffer prides himself on his wisdom and his pursuit of truth and justice and righteousness, but because he is the measure of all wisdom, he can rarely find any outside himself. He is more than a doubter, he mocks any wisdom that does not align with his preconceived notions or that condemns his preferences. And since he is a scoffer, he hates sound, godly wisdom because it convicts him not only of his scoffing, but also of so many of the practices and beliefs he approves. So he can't find true wisdom because of the place it actually resides, but he can find all kinds of worldly wisdom among those who reject the Lord. He boasts of his wisdom, but he knows nothing. Those who know the Lord and have true understanding see through him, but cannot help him.
Application
Knowledge comes easy to the one who has understanding. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." The one who fears the Lord cannot and will not scoff at what the Lord says and requires of His people. Instead he has settled in his heart that what the Lord instructs is right and must be heeded. So knowledge comes easy to him. He doesn't boast in his wisdom, but in the Lord's. The scoffer is impressed by his own understanding and gladly exposes the folly of everyone else, including and especially those simple-minded followers of whatever God's Word instructs. There is no point in me trying to help a scoffer understand God, they cannot hear above their own scoffing. They'll need stronger intervention from God if they're to be saved. And while I need to be discerning of all that passes for wisdom, I need to make God's Word the standard of that discernment: Whatever agrees with Scripture is trustworthy, and whatever contradicts is folly. I don't need to scoff at worldly wisdom, but I should recognize why it's wrong, so as to help others who are genuinely seeking truth. But those seeking truth should already be predisposed to trusting the Word of the Lord, and so easy to convince.