When you “chase the wind” that is what you will catch…nothing!

Probing Proverbs 12:11 He who tills his land will have plenty of bread, But he who pursues worthless things lacks sense.

When I was in High School I was considered a “Class Clown” by the 3 different High Schools I attended. People liked me to come to their parties because I was funny and enjoyed having fun. 

Compared to many in that era I was “tame!” I did not do sex, illegal drugs or physical fights. I did get drunk (which was illegal for me, a minor, but the law tolerated it. I did Playboy (Porn) but that was “just being a healthy American boy.” And, I used my words in “cut down fights” to make others look small. Two things really strike me when looking back and this Proverb speaks to them. The first, unless you pursue something of value, your soul will remain unsatisfied. Second, Fantasy can be more dangerous than reality!

When I began my relationship with Christ, I did not cease being funny or loving to have fun. The BIG difference in my life was the motive that drove me. Before I did what I did because I was pursuing self-glorification. It was all about me! After I began a relationship with my Creator, I accepted me…as me and that took my eyes off me and onto Him. This allowed me to be who He made me to be, without a wrong motive. Of course I have had to grow and mature, but I kept my sense of humor and still love to have fun. When I look back I realize how much motive makes a difference.

A very simple Proverb that communicates a much larger Truth! Beside the obvious point…you reap what you sow! “If you work,” you will have bread. If you waste your time you will end up with nothing…except looking foolish. A greater Truth is communicated here. The need for us to examine what is the foundation of our life, reality, or fantasy?

Are we building our life on what is real, that which is of true substance? Or, are we building our lives on what we are hoping is real, but in reality is worthless?

Interestingly one version translates the word “worthless, “fantasies.”

Proverbs 12:11 A hard worker has plenty of food, but a person who chases fantasies has no sense. (NLT)

The original is: רֵיק (rêq) empty, vain

An adjective formed from the verbal root, it appears fourteen times in the ot. The initial use is Gen 37:24, “The pit was empty, there was no water in it.” The adjective is also used of unfulfilled desires (Isa 29:8), “But he wakes and his soul is empty.” rêq means “vain,” “worthless” in some passages (Prov 12:11; 28:19), “He who follows worthless goals (rêq) will have plenty of poverty.”^[1]

Don’t confuse this concept with the idea of “hope.” Hope is based on Faith in a potential reality. We hope to be married, or to see heaven. These are real and it is good to have hope in your heart.

The problem with fantasies is not that what we are after is not real, many times it is. The difference is in how we think we will attain it. There are healthy fantasies, that is why God gave us our imaginations. Enjoying the series on “Narnia” is quite fun and exercises our imagination in a healthy way. Thinking about space travel can be fun and open your studies about God’s great creation. Imagining what heaven is like, I find very healthy. Fantasy becomes unhealthy when it replaces what can be real. For example, if you have a dream of being an astronaut, which is built on hope, you can study and join NASA. That is a healthy hope and dream. 

But if you pretend that your bed is a space ship, buy a space helmet and spend your time fantasizing that you are exploring space, you are either a child, which is fine, or you need some counseling! Hoping to experience sex some day is a great dream and is placed there by God, and that leads to marriage. However, if you pretend you are with the opposite sex, that you see in pictures, movies, etc., that leads to an unhealthy fantasy that leads to lust, which leads to a variety of immoral actions. Even the hope of being rich is not wrong, but when you try quick rich schemes, more times than not you end up making the person that invented the scheme rich, not yourself. I shared this before, but it makes the point: 

I remember once being in a store when very poor man took the only dollar he had and bought a Lotto ticket. He scratched it and yelled, "I won, I won!"  He had won...TWO MORE TICKETS! He scratched them both to find two more losers. After he tossed them in the trash...he said "well at least I finally won!"??? What did he win? Two more chances to lose?

The Proverb here is pointing out that if you want to prosper, you must do the work. This applies to much more than only food, that is the example here, but in all of life this is the principle. If you want a good job, you must get the training required. If you want a great marriage, you must pay the price of working at the best dialogue and intimacy with your spouse, it will not just happen! If you desire to be close to God, you must invest the time in worship, fellowship, prayer and study that will produce that.

If you invest in unhealthy fantasy, you will end up with a whole lot of nothing and heartache! Refuse to “lack sense,” instead follow the wise words of this Proverb.

What are your hopes and dreams? Have you brought them before the Lord? What do you think is the difference between “healthy fantasy” and “unhealthy fantasy?” How often do you find yourself wishing your life was different? What do you do with that emotion? Can you think of any Scripture that you could use as guidance? Spend some time in the Word, seeking God for guidance.

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^[1] Harris, R. L., Harris, R. L., Archer, G. L., & Waltke, B. K. (1999). Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed.) (846). Chicago: Moody Press.