Focus

Scripture Reading: Proverbs 17:24

Wisdom is in the presence of the one who has understanding, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.

This summer I planted a lot of vegetables. They are all over the backyard and now I have to take care of them. Watering and weeding, pruning and plucking take time. I get easily distracted. I start pruning one plant or pulling weeds around another and then I notice something in a different area that needs tending and I go there and forget what I was doing. I’m trying to learn to focus on one task at a time.

That is kind of like the picture of a fool this proverb is painting for us. The fool is a distracted person. He doesn’t have a clear-eyed focus on wisdom. He goes here and there and never settles down and pays attention to the wisdom that is right in front of his nose.

Throughout the book of Proverbs, wisdom is portrayed as readily available to those who desire and seek her with their whole hearts. That why this verse says that “Wisdom is in the presence of the one who has understanding.”  That person is focused on seeking and seeing wisdom. Therefore, they do.

The fool has no focus. Wisdom is not a priority. Therefore, it is always out of reach and out of sight.

Focus.