Daily Bible Study: Proverbs 10:10

He who winks with the eye causes trouble,
But a prating fool will fall.

Proverbs 10:10 (NKJV).

There's an adage that goes "oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive."

Winking of the eyes, or shuffling of the feet, are old testament phrases which connote when someone is scheming or planning something, or when you need to be able to send secret messages, and which in a high-trust society, would look entirely out of place and suspicious.

It's thus not difficult to imagine that even pretending to "send signals" will draw undue attention and problems, whether you've really anything to hide or not. Just think about it briefly, why would you behave like someone sketchy without a good reason? Why would you intentionally draw attention to your own behavior in this manner?

In addition, we've got a direct repeat of the prior phrase about prating fools, the obnoxious and verbose type of fool who runs at the mouth. So, what's the contrast here?

While behaving in an odd manner causes problems, or at least implies them, regardless of one's intent, it won't necessarily cause problems like blabbing endlessly can. While causing trouble is not good, falling is downright bad.

People may think you odd, and you may have to explain your behavior to alleviate curiosity, but if you're incessant in conversation, you'll blurt out things which you have no need to say at all in the first place.

More than once in popular culture have there been comedy routines where someone was trying to convey some sort of secret message, and their failure to do so was the source of the humor. These types of scenarios often endear us to the characters, because we can understand communication difficulties, and how perceptions can mislead and cause unintended problems.

However, we do not ever really like the chatterbox. The humor is always at their expense, mocking who they are and not just what they're doing at that time. We laugh at them, not with them.

Similarly, when outside the realm of comedy, we treat people different based on their behaviors, because those behaviors have a reason behind them and we're responding to that reason, as best we understand it.

While those who scheme may still be fools, the consequences for their behavior are different, and in the process of seeking wisdom it's good to understand that not all bad behavior leads to the exact same negative consequences. This is not to redeem or to suggest that the "less bad" are acceptable, but just to understand the dynamics of behavior and what's really going on and how our actions lead to different consequences.