Have you ever come to an event and been surprised to discover that you were inappropriately dressed for the occasion? Have you ever found yourself dressed either too formally or informally for a particular event? I recall just a few years ago when I was asked to renew the wedding vows of a couple who had been married for 38 years. She told me it was going to be a small informal setting among friends in their home. When I showed up dressed in a t-shirt and blue jeans while everyone else had on coats and ties, I knew I had misunderstood what she meant by informal. Someone was kind enough to loan me their coat and I proceeded with the renewal of vows. I was clearly out of place.

For a long time I had no interest in whether or not something was appropriate. I thought Christianity dealt only with those important things like right and wrong, good and evil. Who is concerned about propriety in the church? As I've gotten older, I've discovered that it is one of the most vital questions asked about anything. Not just is it true but is it appropriate?

The proverbs in this text are clustered around this theme. The first three proverbs are an introduction. There are some things that just don't fit. In fact, in and of themselves they are good but the timing is off. The first proverb sets up an analogy -- snow on a hot summer day is out of place. In like manner, praising someone for engaging in foolish behavior is not fitting. The proverb in verse two observes that a malicious word aimed at an innocent victim is inappropriate and will do little harm. The third proverb identifies something that is appropriate -- punishment for fools. These all set the tone for the way in which the proverbs that follow are understood.

Based on the accumulation of experience, several of the proverbs observe that certain actions, words and sayings are folly because they are out of place. For example, sometimes proverbs themselves are misused. The sage remarks in verse seven, "Like a lame man's legs, which hang useless, is a proverb in the mouth of fools." The image is that a proverb spoken by a fool is handicapped, impotent, like the dangling emaciated legs of a paraplegic. The saying is useless because of the ineptness of the one who uses it.

Soren Kierkegaard tells the parable of a man who escaped from an insane asylum. He knew he must disguise himself otherwise he would be caught and sent back to the asylum. He thought if he could come up with a phrase that everyone would acknowledge as true, they would not recognize his insanity. The phrase he settled on was "the world is round." So to everyone he met he uttered this phrase "the world is round," "the world is round." Needless to say he was discovered and returned to his former confinement. A proverb or proverb-like saying in the mouth of a fool sounds ridiculous.

Not only is it ridiculous, at times it also is destructive. Another proverb observes, "Like a thorn bush in the hand of a drunkard, is a proverb in the mouth of a fool" (v. 9). Here the analogy moves beyond impotence to a proverb that is hazardous. The drunkard wielding a thorn bush has no control over his faculties and not only is a danger to himself but to others around him. He thrashes about inflicting injury to everything within reach. In like manner, proverbs in the wrong hands are destructive.