There’s nothing like the book of Proverbs for short sound bites of wisdom, and just about every practical topic conceivable is addressed in this book.  Of course, Proverbs speaks over and over again about the wise man; the best I can tell, 119 verses in the book mention the wise, wisdom, etc.  On the other hand, Proverbs also speaks of the opposite – the foolish man.  I found 78 verses that specifically talk about that.  The Lord pulls no punches when speaking of the fool, and it’s worth our while to notice it.  For example, there is a list of warnings concerning the fool in Proverbs 26:1-11, and it’s pretty strong stuff; take a second to read it right now.  But here’s the point for today: after hammering the problems a foolish life brings, the Lord makes a point that ought to stop us in our tracks.  Proverbs 26:12 goes on to say, “Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.”  You see that?  As hard as life is for the foolish man and those around him, there is one who has even less hope of the right kind of life.  It’s the one who conceitedly sees himself as wiser, better, and on top of things when he’s actually the opposite.  He’s proud and unteachable, refusing to admit his need for anyone else, including God.  Now, he probably won’t express it that way, but that’s how he lives.  Going his own way, doing his own thing, following his own heart might be how he would phrase it.  One old commentator put it this way: “The self-conceited are taught with more difficulty than the stupid.”  May we avoid the Biblically defined life of the fool.  But even more than that may we be delivered from the self-life and follow this solution: “Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord and depart from evil” (Proverbs 3:7).