Proverbs - What is Foolishness?

Proverbs 17:19-20

He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow:

and the father of a fool hath no joy.

All of our children are conceived in sin just as we were.  There is a sinful, foolish nature we have all inherited.  We, as parents, are instructed to train our children in the way they should go, not the way they naturally go.  If we ignore this great ministry and allow foolishness to reign and go undisciplined we do it to our own sorrow and the father will not have joy.  We must not neglect or grow lazy in this commission.  It will hurt our children and hurt us too.  We should familiarize ourselves with what God considers foolish behavior and then seek Him how to instruct and lead our children away from these things.  Here are some examples of foolishness according to the Lord and what we must train our children away from:

Not believing in the existence of God  Ps 14:1

Going after loose women, having sex outside of marriage Prov 7:22

Hating someone but pretending to be nice to them with our words Prov 10:18

Speaking evil things about someone to paint them in a bad light Prov 10:18

Doing mischievous things for fun or approval of others  Prov 10:23

Evaluating a course of action is right because you think it is apart from any sort of counsel or objective measurement Prov 12:15

Self confidence and boasting about it Prov 14:16

Being easily angered or annoyed by situations or people . Prov 14:17

Despising the advice of one’s father Prov 15:5

Trusting in one’s own heart and feelings Prov 28:26

Talking a lot without purpose and caution Eccl 10:14

These are just some of the foolish inclinations all of us go towards in our fallen nature.  We must be on the lookout for these in our children and see to it that we pray, instruct, correct and exemplify the opposite of these types of behavior.  If our children take heed to this, we can look forward to less sorrow and more joy.