The word of the day is “better.”  Are the choices that people make in their lives based on reason?  The “Rational Choice Theory” claims that people choose the options they believe are in their best interest.  That is, they select the most reasonable choices among alternatives. Our reading of Proverb 15:7-19 rejects this presupposition.  The wise sage of Proverbs writes, “Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fatted calf with hatred” (NKJV vs. 17).  This saying suggests that the theory that people make reasonable choices fails to consider the role of the passions in human decisions.  Today we look at the basic choice between the freedom of wisdom and the folly of slavery to the passions. …

The word of the day is “better.”  Are the choices that people make in their lives based on reason?  The “Rational Choice Theory” claims that people choose the options they believe are in their best interest.  That is, they select the most reasonable choices among alternatives. Our reading of Proverb 15:7-19 rejects this presupposition.  The wise sage of Proverbs writes, “Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fatted calf with hatred” (NKJV vs. 17).  This saying suggests that the theory that people make reasonable choices fails to consider the role of the passions in human decisions.  Today we look at the basic choice between the freedom of wisdom and the folly of slavery to the passions. …