Winking and Prating

Proverbs 10:10  He that winketh with the eye causeth sorrow: but a prating fool shall fall.

I hope that you aren't winking and prating about because that would indeed grieve the heart. You may ask "how do I know that is it bad to be prating and winking?" We know this from the result of each - sorrow and falling. So we know from the start that this is not a good thing. Since we know it is bad, let's figure out what it is that is bad. 

Winking with the eye in the Bible is always shown as a devious act (Pro. 6:13; Job 15:12; Psa.35:19). Really no different than it is today. 

Prating is babbling, and the fool who babbles speaks his heart. So a prating fool goes on and on, with each word revealing to every unfortunate soul in earshot that he is indeed a fool. 

In this proverb, as in most, we have two different people, with two different outcomes. The word "but" separates the the two situations. Often "but" will transition from good to bad. For example, if you would scan up to the previous verse, we conveniently have an example in Proverbs 10:9.  He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known. Here we see that the upright walk sure footed *but* the man that perverts the way shall be known. You have the godly and ungodly compared and contrasted showing you one way is superior to the other.

Our proverb is different though, because both ways are bad and both outcomes are bad. 

A) He that winketh with the eye causeth sorrow: 

but 

B) a prating fool shall fall.

So the "but" in verse 10 doesn't transition from bad to worse, but we know that this conjunction does transition us some way, so what are we contrasting? Both A and B are people you do not want to be and both end results are places you do not want to go. Now we need to think about what the difference is in order to gain wisdom.

The difference is in the person that is hurt. The "winker" of line A hurts other people. He causes sorrow. The prating fool of line B hurts himself. The fool who rambles on in his foolishness can and often does hurt other people (read the whole of chapter ten with the theme of work and words in mind and you can see the result of the words of a fool). Though he may not necessarily hurt others, he will hurt himself. He is going to fall.

I believe that this proverb is a warning for those with a foolish mouth. The liar and the deceiver the backbiter and the thief is universally known to hurt other people. We all know the kind of person that is being described and we've all experienced the pain of a wrecking ball of deception  Perhaps, such were some of you. But the foolish talker doesn't realize the pain he causes because he hurts himself, and nobody wants to hurt themselves, for no man ever yet hated his own flesh. If the foolish talker knew he was a) a foolish talker and b) was hurting himself, he would surely probably stop. 

Here is the important part. We have to press on. We can't stop here, or we just learned a proverb. We have to look in the mirror and examine our own words. Am I a foolish babbler? What do I talk about? Does my mouth have a break and if so does it work and do I know where it located? Is there a filter between head and mouth and if so, is it working? 

Think about it this way. In you minds eye, the part of "he that winketh with the eye" will be played by a car thief  The prating fool will be portrayed by a person who never checks their oil in their car. The car thief will cause sorrow to others. But the person who never checks or changes the oil in their car only brings hurt on themselves. They hop in the car, cruising with the windows down, without a care in the world. "Those windshield wipers slappin out a tempo, keepin perfect rhythm with the song on the radio, gotta keep rolling" says Mr. Rabbit and all is right in the world. But the fun and games come to a stop when the engine does. The whole car was groaning under the foolishness of the car owner, who was oblivious to the harm their foolish behavior was causing and the pattern of foolish behavior brought the bad fruit. There is another option, which I think hits the mark for most people. The fool knew they were doing wrong and just didn't care or didn't believe the warning was true. 

The prating fool will fall.

Doug