“Sensible people keep their eyes glued on wisdom, but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth.” — Proverbs 17:24 (NLT)
Notice that Solomon doesn’t separate the wise from the foolish by intelligence in this verse. Instead, he points out that it’s connected to where they’re looking. The fool isn’t necessarily ignorant. He’s distracted. His eyes roam to the ends of the earth, always scanning for the next thing. A fool wants the far-off answer, the life he assumes is happening elsewhere. He always thinks the grass is greener somewhere else. The wise person, by contrast, doesn’t have to search to the ends of the earth. Why? Because wisdom isn’t far away. Moses told Israel that God’s word was “very near you” (Deuteronomy 30:14). The New Testament goes further: wisdom is not merely a principle but a Person. Christ Himself is “the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24).
We Drift
That leads to a question that’s sometimes hard to answer: “Where do your eyes go when you’re anxious, bored, or restless?” Most of us don’t simply reject wisdom outright. We just naturally drift from it. First, we scroll. Then we daydream about a different job, and that all our problems will go away. Finally, we imagine we’ll win the lottery (plus we wouldn’t lose it like “all of them”). We quietly assume the answer lies “out there” rather than in the ordinary faithfulness right in front of us. But a wandering eye is really the symptom of a wandering heart. Indeed, it’s a heart that doesn’t believe God has given us enough.
You don’t need more willpower; you need better vision. Start seeing Jesus, and your restless gaze finally has somewhere to rest. The Lord fixed His eyes on the Father’s will all the way to the Cross. What is more, He did it for you. So start small this week. Choose one fixed point: maybe an unhurried time in Scripture each morning before you pick up your phone. Read it, sit with it, and then let it guide you.
Fixing my eyes on Jesus,
Posted in A Word from the Pastor