The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.
Simplicity and prudence
Such belief is not to the discredit of the simple man, but to the disgrace of the man who misleads him. No character is more admirable than that which is marked by simplicity and consequent trustfulness; it is only because the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, and the courses of this world are so much out of line, that simplicity is not only undervalued, but sometimes contemned. The prudent man is put in apposition to indicate that he is a man of affairs, who understands a good deal of the ways of the world, and who looks below the surface to find real meanings; this kind of prudence is itself an affirmation of the wickedness of the world: prudence in itself may or may not be a virtue; everything depends upon its origin and its purpose: when a man is so prudent as to suspect everybody, to regard every word as a trap, and every proposition as a lure to destruction, his prudence simply signifies that he has found out that he is in a bad world, and that everything is to be examined with a view to detecting in it the spirit of selfishness and all evil. Whether simplicity or prudence would in the long run the more prevail cannot now be told, because no fair test can be applied. Certainly Jesus Christ would seem to teach that simplicity is better than wariness, and that trustfulness is nearer to the Spirit of God than is suspicion. It is right to understand the men by whom we are surrounded, and to obtain some notion of their spirit and purpose, in order that we may conduct ourselves aright towards them. This is what God Himself does: to the froward He shows Himself froward; to the meek He is all gentleness; to the trustful He is all grace. There are men who pride themselves upon their prudence, not knowing that their prudence may have been gained through an experience which has cost them dearly, and which has revealed in many instances their folly and their incompetence. The prudence of the wise man will be placed at the disposal of the simple, and will not be wholly devoted to the confounding of those whose intentions are evil. Wherever one man is wiser than another he is a debtor to the man who is not so wise, and is bound to pay him of the gold of wisdom, that the man may be able to manage his affairs in the world with discretion and success. (J. Parker, D.D.)
The credulous and the cautious
I. The hastily credulous. “The simple believeth every word.”
1. One of the strongest tendencies in man’s mental nature is his propensity to believe. It is one of the most voracious appetites of the soul. The child opens its mental mouth, hungering for tales from the nurse’s lips, and will eagerly swallow up everything that is said.
(1) This propensity to believe implies a state of society that does not exist. Were men born into heaven, were society free from all error and deception, it would be not only right, but a beneficial thing to believe every word, and to confide in every character. This is the state of society for which man was created, but he has lost it. He comes into a world of lies.
(2) This propensity to believe explains the reign of priesthood.
(3) This propensity to believe shows the easiness of the condition on which God has made the salvation of man to depend. “He that believeth shall be saved.”
2. The thoughtless yielding to this tendency is an immense loss. “The fool rageth, and is confident.” The fool sees no danger, dreads no harm. He rushes recklessly forward into mischief.
(1) He is passionate. “He rageth.” Counsels and warnings only irritate him.
(2) He is stubborn. He “is confident.” What does he care about your warnings? Nothing.
(3) He is foolish. “He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly, and he inherits folly.”
(4) He is despised. A man of wicked devices is hated. The man who has given way to his credulity becomes all this. He is passionate, ignorant of the grounds of his belief, he cannot brook contradiction, his opinions being prejudices, he is stubborn in holding them, and in all this he is “foolish” and “hated.”
II. The cautiously believing. “The prudent man looketh well to his going.” True prudence is indicated by two things.
1. A dread of evil. “A wise man feareth.” True dread of evil is consistent with true courage. Few, if any, displayed more heroism than Noah, yet, being moved by fear, he prepared an ark. Evil, both physical and moral, is a bad thing in the universe, and it is right to dread it, as we dread poisonous serpents and ravenous beasts. True prudence is indicated--
2. By a departure from evil. “He departeth from evil.” Moral evil is the heart of all evil, and this he forsakes. He shuns it as an enemy to God and the universe. The prudence is indicated--
3. By mental greatness. He is dignified with knowledge. He is “crowned with knowledge.” Caution in believing is necessary for three reasons.
(1) The strength of man’s tendency to believe.
(2) The prevalence of error in society.
(3) The damaging influence of falsehood on the soul. (Homilist.)
Prudent going
“Why are you treading so carefully?” said a donkey to a heavily laden horse. “You’ll never get home at that rate.” “Do you want to know?” was the answer; “it is because I remember there’s a stone on the road somewhere about here. I stumbled over it this morning on my way to work, and I don’t mean to have another fall this evening.” (Mrs. Presser.)