I watched an ad on TV last night, featuring innovators (including kids riding bikes in fancy ways), risk-takers and a professional basketball player. The theme of the ad? Fortune favors the brave. What product was I to buy? Cryptocurrency. I don’t know enough about cryptocurrencies to determine whether it’s a good investment or not. But the ad came across as fortune favors the brave, cool hip young people are brave, so send us your money.

Actually, I believe that fortune often favors the brave. But this ad felt foolish to me. Maybe I’m old and out of touch.

Solomon, the writer of Proverbs, expended a lot of ink on the topic of the fool. His insights always balance with the actions of the wise, or prudent. Apparently the kingdom Solomon ruled held plenty of foolish subjects to use as object lessons.

The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.

So much insight contained in so few words. At times I’ve plunged ahead thinking, what could go wrong? I should have listened to the wisdom I brushed aside.

For sure don’t listen to me on investment advice—I miss out on pretty much all the major trends. But don’t listen to manipulative advertising either. A financial advisor seems a better place to start.

While fortune may (at times) favor the brave, I read in the Good Book how fortune always favors the wise.

Proverbs 12:15 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Zoltan Tasi