CYNICS may ask, why don’t people follow the advice of numerous proverbs and maxims of forethought available for centuries? Instead, they conclude that these are only used after some rightful venture has gone “horribly wrong.” When, for instance, a person gambles and loses all they have, including their house, why did they not remember the old Scottish proverb which declares “willful waste leads to woeful want?” But didn’t the gambler know this well-worn saying from earlier years? However, what good, then, did it do? Are the maxims of morality useless because people disregard them? For Christians and Jews, the Book of Proverbs is a great example. Yet, what about other religions and philosophers?

The most widely read French poet of the 17th century, Jean de La Fontaine, said, “Let us not strain our abilities, or we shall do nothing with grace. Whatever he may do, a clown will never pass for a gentleman.”

It sounds a lot like the Apostle Paul thought when he wrote, “Let your conversation be graceful and properly seasoned so that you will have the right response for everyone.”[1]

[1] Colossians 4:6