There’s a fascinating idea in the Doobie Brothers’ classic What a Fool Believes: the difference between what a fool believes and what a wise man can see. Could that wise man bring to mind King Solomon?
Written by Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins, the song tells the story of a man holding on to a romance that exists more vividly in his memory than in reality. He has built a whole world around what he wants to believe. When the truth arrives, he isn’t eager to let the illusion go.
Solomon knew something about the danger of confusing conviction with wisdom. He asked God for an understanding heart, not simply the power to get his own way. And Proverbs offers a warning that fits the song remarkably well:
“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
Proverbs 14:12 (KJV)
The fool isn’t necessarily stupid. He can be educated, charming, successful—even sincere. What makes him foolish is his unwillingness to question the story he tells himself.
And the wise man? He isn’t the one who never makes a mistake. He’s the one willing to admit when he has. Wisdom is not the power to make our fantasies real; it’s the courage to face reality with humility.
We don’t know that the songwriters had Solomon in mind. But that’s the beauty of a great song: sometimes it opens a door to a truth older than the music itself.
Good news. Good music. Good works.
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