Proverbs 14:1-8--The Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 14:1-8
English Standard Version
​14 The wisest of women builds her house,
    but folly with her own hands tears it down.
2 Whoever walks in uprightness fears the LORD,
    but he who is devious in his ways despises him.
3 By the mouth of a fool comes a rod for his back,
    but the lips of the wise will preserve them.
4 Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean,
    but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.
5 A faithful witness does not lie,
    but a false witness breathes out lies.
6 A scoffer seeks wisdom in vain,
    but knowledge is easy for a man of understanding.
7 Leave the presence of a fool,
    for there you do not meet words of knowledge.
8 The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way,
    but the folly of fools is deceiving.

---

Solomon's biggest warning in this passage is about those who would lie, scheme, and be deceptive.  They are fools for thinking that this is the way to get ahead in life.  God who is the measure of all Truth will one day bring into account all things and those who are identified as "liars" will have their part in the Lake of Fire with the devil, the father of lies.  He was a liar from the beginning.

Another major theme here is the value of hard work, and we might even say that Solomon talks about "no pain, no gain" here, though he says that doing work that yields an abundant harvest is "messy," and that the only way things stay pristine and clean is if you do no work and have no harvest (that's not desirable by the way).

The man who wants wisdom apart from God is a fool that will never find what he is looking for because true Wisdom is only found in God and through the revelation of His Son, Jesus Christ, the Wisdom of God.  Because of this, the fool has nothing to offer you in the way of wisdom, and you should listen to the so-called wisdom he has to offer (let this be a word of warning to all those who believe there is such a thing as secular wisdom that can be learned from K-12 public schools and public colleges and universities that seek to have wisdom apart from a relationship with God).

God gives wisdom so that the wise person will see the correct way to go, but for the fool who keeps on lying and deceiving, no such direction is given, and he stumbles around in the darkness falling into the pits and traps that were laid for others and suffering the rod of correction for the lies and deceit that he has spoken.