Proverbs 26:7,  The legs of the lame are not equal: so is a parable in the mouth of fools.

God designed man with a pair of legs that are to work together to support the man.

The legs are a pair and work successfully together when one is as strong and as fit as the other.

They work best when one leg is the same length as the other and has the same strength as the other.

They are to work in unity toward a common purpose, walking, running, lifting, even supporting a man in a sitting position.

Each leg does its share, each leg is equal to the other.

If one leg is missing, walking and running will cease, lifting is limited, even sitting is affected.

It is comely for one leg to be equal to another leg and that is God's plan for normal living.

A man functions best with two good legs of equal strength and equal length.

But the legs of the lame are not equal.

They perhaps are not the same length, the same strength, they may not even be a pair of legs.

One leg may be missing and even with a modern prosthesis the man made leg is not equal to the God made leg.

The legs of the lame do not fit together, they do not work together, they do not share the work equally.

A lame man is very awkward in his manner of walking.

There is something missing in the lame leg and the strong leg cannot make up for the weak or missing leg no matter how much it tries.

Both legs are necessary to the proper functioning of the man.

One strength cannot cover the weakness of the other.

A lame man does not engage in feats of strength and agility.

If he does he simply shows his lameness.

As he engages in these things he cries out to all, see my lameness!

And "so is a parable in the mouth of fools."

The fool as he expresses a parable cries out, See how lame I am!

See what a fool I am in speaking a parable my life knows not of.

I am engaging in feats of strength and agility but I am lame.

I am missing a spiritual leg in my life.

Now the parable in this proverb speaks of a pithy maxim.

Now a pithy maxim is a wise saying or energetic words or expressions, concentrated words from which a moral is drawn for instruction.

So picture a fool expressing moral instruction.

This is a person who attempts to talk of subjects beyond himself.

This is a person who speaks of things that do not fit his character.

His character witnesses against anything he says.

This is the rock star who cautions young people to stay off drugs.

These are people with aids preaching practices that they obviously did not practice.

This is the celebrity that attempts to give medical advice in a TV ad because he plays a doctor on television.

This is Cher promoting the merits of the pink stuff or is it the blue stuff. Why should I believe her?

This is the person who wears the tee shirts with Bible verses on them while they engage in unholy living.

This is the President leading in prayer while he promotes and approves all sorts of ungodly ways of living.

This is Ronald McDonald depicting himself as an adult playing golf with adults in order to sell Arch Deluxe Burgers to adults.

Madison Avenue can convince Americans of anything if converting a clown into an adult icon is successful.

But examples abound in this hypocrisy.

A parable in the mouth of fools is the norm today and it is accepted by most of those who listen.

The lame lead the lame!

Anyone can give a moral teaching regardless of their character.

In fact it seems the lower the character of the person the better.

But the word of God is true.

A parable expressed from the mouth of a fool is to be thought of as lame.

He is to be thought of as though missing a leg.

Something is missing here.

A fool is the height of the ridiculous when he makes a show of wisdom.

Someone has said: A wise saying doth as ill become a fool, as dancing does a cripple

We are to examine the life of those who speak parables and test that parable against their life.

A parable in the mouth of fools is simply to confirm the hypocrisy of the fool.

Anyone whose life does not match up with his words is to have their portion with the hypocrites.

Now no man is perfect in matching his life with his words but a consistent walk where words match deeds is attainable by following God's word and appropriating God's grace on a daily basis.

It is better to keep ones mouth closed and perhaps only be thought a fool than to open it and to remove all doubt.

The moral is if you are going to give out pithy sayings, if you are going to teach parables, teach them with a life that supports the teaching just like one leg supports the other.

The parable will be a positive influence instead of being negative for the one giving the parable .

Be not as the lame man who only points out his lameness by attempting strength and agility beyond his capability.