Proverbs 26:8

Like one who binds the stone in the sling is one who gives honor to a fool.

In the continuing rant regarding fools, the writer now promotes a smart proverb about honoring fools: he is against the idea.  As one commentator pithily wrote, “the stone is there to be slung out. So is the fool.” (Kidner, Tyndale OT, p. 155)

So how are we to use this bit of wisdom? It begins with our definition of a fool who lives unaware of the living God (Ps. 14:1; Prov. 4:7; 9:10).  This is an area rife with pitfalls and pratfalls in our functional theology we implement daily. For instance, whose money is in your pocket? Should it have a bearing on what you spend for snacks (“A Starbucks a day keeps the ….away”?), lunch (“Let’s try that new restaurant today.”) or getting another pair of shoes (operative word being “another”)?  Yes, I did frame these with a negative view, but that is the point: Money, like a stone in a sling, is there for a purpose – the Owner’s purpose.  Using it otherwise, is like keeping/binding it in the pouch of a sling which may preserve the rock, but makes it uselessly worthless.

Instead, what about saving up your weekly snack fund (if you have one) to share a stone snack once a week with a co-worker who needs a bit of encouragementyou won’t be embarrassed should someone help you move your massive collection, and let them know you have a plan and are working on it with God. (That would be quite the conversation starter!) See how the stones in the sling God has put in your hand might be targeted on Kingdom values, which really shows wisdom on your part and gives the credit to God. So sling with great care and intentionality, thereby honoring our Lord.