Lessons From The Coyote

PROVERBS 26:1-28 (NASB)

Like snow in summer and like rain in harvest, So honor is not fitting for a fool. 2 Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, So a curse without cause does not alight. 3 A whip is for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, And a rod for the back of fools. 4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Or you will also be like him. 5 Answer a fool as his folly deserves, That he not be wise in his own eyes. 6 He cuts off his own feet and drinks violence Who sends a message by the hand of a fool. 7 Like the legs which are useless to the lame, So is a proverb in the mouth of fools. 8 Like one who binds a stone in a sling, So is he who gives honor to a fool. 9 Like a thorn which falls into the hand of a drunkard, So is a proverb in the mouth of fools. 10 Like an archer who wounds everyone, So is he who hires a fool or who hires those who pass by. 11 Like a dog that returns to its vomit Is a fool who repeats his folly. 12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. 13 The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road! A lion is in the open square!” 14 As the door turns on its hinges, So does the sluggard on his bed. 15 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; He is weary of bringing it to his mouth again. 16 The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes Than seven men who can give a discreet answer. 17 Like one who takes a dog by the ears Is he who passes by and meddles with strife not belonging to him. 18 Like a madman who throws Firebrands, arrows and death, 19 So is the man who deceives his neighbor, And says, “Was I not joking?” 20 For lack of wood the fire goes out, And where there is no whisperer, contention quiets down. 21 Like charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, So is a contentious man to kindle strife. 22 The words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels, And they go down into the innermost parts of the body. 23 Like an earthen vessel overlaid with silver dross Are burning lips and a wicked heart. 24 He who hates disguises it with his lips, But he lays up deceit in his heart. 25 When he speaks graciously, do not believe him, For there are seven abominations in his heart. 26 Though his hatred covers itself with guile, His wickedness will be revealed before the assembly. 27 He who digs a pit will fall into it, And he who rolls a stone, it will come back on him. 28 A lying tongue hates those it crushes, And a flattering mouth works ruin.

LESSONS FROM THE COYOTE

Proverbs 26:1-28

At first glance the sly Coyote seems to be a genius! With every cleverly laid trap and ingenious deception the Coyote meets with failure. There is no better contemporary example of the fool described in the book of Proverbs than the cartoon Coyote.

The ATTITUDE of the Fool:

1. CONTEMPT for others

2. CRITICIZING others

3. COMPLACENCY with his own condition

People are not fools simply because they disagree with us. The Bible repeatedly makes it plain. There is a distinction between being mistaken and being a fool.

Proverbial verses about Fools

The SIN of the Fool:

1. DENY the sovereignty of God

2. DISREGARD God's ordained plan

3. DERIVE pleasure from others misfortune

The WORSHIP of the Fool:

1. They want to be SEEN

2. They want to be RESPECTED

3. They want to be HEARD

A Fools' worship is disrespectful to God. The problem is not that they mistakenly use "unauthorized" procedures in their worship. The problem is that their focus is on themselves and how they are seen by others. We are fools when we do not focus our attention on God.

Three Questions Of Life

WHO ARE YOU? FOOL OR FAITHFUL

HOW ARE YOU? GOOD OR GODLY

WHERE ARE YOU GOING? HEAVEN OR HELL

ILLUS: THE COYOTE CARTOON

The verse at first glance seems comical, very much like the sly coyote. One that is scheming and designing and laying out a trap for the roadrunner. Much effort was placed in to the digging of that pit and rolling stone. With every shovel of dirt, the coyote thinks, “I’ve got him this time!” With every sweat filled inch the stone is turned, he thinks, “I can almost taste him. He’s mine!” But in the end, the result is the same. The coyote is distracted, drawn away, or duped, and it is not long before he finds himself looking up from the bottom of his own pit or squished in to a paper thin shape. But just as soon as the disaster takes place, we find him in the next scene, doing the same thing all over, lighting a fuse that will explode in his own face or painting a wall that he himself will run straight into.

SIR WALTER SCOTT- Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive a web is what is woven by a spider, and its function is to trap flies with its stickiness; the more they wriggle to get away, the more they entangle themselves in it. Scott is warning us that the liar spins and weaves his own trap for himself, not realizing he has done so until he's caught