Proverbs 17:24

The Eyes Of A Fool

The eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth. Proverbs 17:24.

That is a funny place to keep your eyes, isn't it? They would not be much use to you there, and it would be very inconvenient to have them so far away. Yet that is just where a great many people keep their eyes, and the Wise Man calls those who do so “fools”

What does the Wise Man mean when he talks about people keeping their eyes in the ends of the earth? Of course he doesn't mean that they have taken them out and posted them in a little box, marked “Fragile with care,” to Australia, or New Zealand, or China. No, he intends to tell us that foolish people look for the best things far away. They keep gazing far off and imagine that what they see there is far better than what is near, and so they miss the good things that are close beside them.

Once upon a time there lived on the banks of the Indus, far away in India, a man whose name was El Hafed. He owned a little farm, and he lived there very happily and contentedly with his wife and his children.

But one day a Persian priest arrived at the farm, and he spoke of the wonderful diamonds which were to be found in a distant land. One of these, no bigger than his thumb, he said, was worth more than all El Hafed possessed.

Now when El Hafed heard of these marvelous treasures, he made up his mind to go in search of them. So he left his little farm, he left his happy home and his wife and children, and he set out into the big world to look for the jewels.

On and on he wandered, always searching, but he never found the diamonds. After many years he came to the farthest verge of the Mediterranean, and there he died.

One day the Persian priest returned to the little farm on the banks of the Indus. But El Hafed's wife and children had left it long since, and it was now owned by strangers.

As he lay resting on a couch his eye lit upon something that flashed and sparkled on a shelf, and he sat up in astonishment. Then he said, “Did El Hafed find the diamond after all, or how does that come to be there?”

And the farmer told him that the wonderful gem had been found in the little brook which ran through the farm.

There are at least three good things that, like El Hafed, people seek far off when they should look for them close at hand.

1. The first good thing is beauty. Some people search for beauty in distant lands and strange places.

Of course there is no harm in looking for it there. God has made all His world beautiful, and He has given it to us to make us glad. But the mistake those people sometimes make is that they forget to look for beauty at their own door.

Boys and girls, don't make that mistake. Beauty lies all around us if only we have eyes to see it in the sunshine and the cloud; in the rainbow and the dew; in the golden glory of the sunset sky and the silver radiance of the moonbeams; in the sparkling brook and the flowing river and the surging sea; in the budding leaves of spring and the glowing tints of autumn; in the tall tree and the wayside flower; in the colors of an insect and the flight of a bird; and in your mother's smile.

Don't look for beauty just in the far-away things or the grand things. Look for it in the little common things of everyday life. God has put just as much love and care into the making of a tiny wild-flower as into the creation of a rare orchid; and perhaps the reason why He gave us so many of the things we call “common” is just because He knew they were the things we needed most. Don't keep gazing to the ends of the earth in search of the beauty you may never see. You will miss the beauty that lies all round you, and over you, and underneath you, and that is the beauty God means you to see.

2. Another good thing that fools look for in the ends of the earth is duty.

Perhaps you fancy that duty isn't a very nice thing. It makes you think of a lot of disagreeable tasks that have got to be done because they must. Well, it hasn't got a very pleasant name, but all the same duty is one of the very best things in the world. It is really a sort of fairy princess clad in a sober garment, and if it were not for duty the world would fall to pieces. Just try to imagine what the world would be like if everybody did as they pleased, and nobody did as they ought.

Now, duty is a thing that a great many people look for in the ends of the earth. They sit and dream of the fine deeds they are going to do later, they think of the splendid heroes they will be, and all the time they are overlooking the little plain duties that lie close at hand.

Boys and girls, the true heroes and heroines of life are those who do the commonplace daily tasks faithfully and well. Your duty is not the thing that is far away. It is the thing that is next you. Perhaps it is just learning a lesson, or helping your mother to dust a room or wash the dishes. Perhaps it is drying your little sister's tears, or tying up her cut finger, or going to cheer a sick friend. Perhaps it is just trying to be kind and patient when other people are cross. But however humble it may be, it is the finest thing you can do, and you are never likely to do those big faraway things well unless you do your best with the little near ones.

Remember Jesus lived thirty years in Nazareth,

working in a carpenter's shop, and serving His father and mother, and it was not until God called Him that He went out into the world to teach, and to heal, and to comfort. Some day God may call you also to larger service, and then, if you have been faithful in the little things, you will be ready to go.

3. I want to speak of one other good thing that foolish people seek in the ends of the earth, and that is happiness.

You often hear people saying, “Oh, if only I were like So-and-so, if only I had his money, or his brains, or his chances I should be happy.” Sometimes I have met boys and girls who fancied they would be happy if they had as many fine things, or as grand a house to live in, or as much money to spend as some other boy or girl they know. Well, they certainly would not be happy if they took their discontented nature with them.

For listen. Happiness is not far away, but within the reach of all of us. It consists not in having the things you like, but in liking the things you have. Mr. Carnegie, the billionaire, once said that he had known several billionaires, but he had never seen one of them laugh heartily; and it isn't the abundance of things we have that makes us happy but the being contented with what we have got.

Do you know the beautiful legend of how the forget-me-not came by its name? The story tells of how a youth was walking one day on a mountain-side when he saw a little blue flower lying at his feet. He picked it up, and very soon after he came to a cave in the mountain-side.

On entering the cave he saw that it was sparkling with gold and precious stones. Some of these lay about in heaps on the floor, and near them sat a beautiful lady who told him to help himself. You may be sure he was not long in obeying her, but in gathering the gems he let fall the little blue flower he had found.

When he had filled all his pockets he turned to go, and the lady called to him, “Forget not the best.” He looked all round, but he could see nothing that he thought better than what he already had, so he went on towards the entrance of the cave. Just as he reached it a feeble voice cried, “Forget me not.” It was the voice of the flower he had found on the mountain-side, but the cry was so weak that he did not hear it, and the next moment, with a terrible roar, the rocks at the entrance to the cave closed behind him, cutting him off for ever from the treasure.

The little flower he had found and despised led the way into the cave, and the loss of it closed the door for ever.

Boys and girls, “forget not the best.” Contentment is the magic flower that opens the door into the treasure-cave of happiness. It is a common little wild-flower that anyone may gather, but it is more precious than gold or gems; for if you don't possess it, you will never be able to enter the wonderful cave.