A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul,
but to turn away from evil is an abomination to fools.
This is a fascinating proverb. Before we look at the practical meaning of it, which seems to be stated explicitly, let's look at the implication and the implicit portions. The proverb implies that man has a desire to have some sweet end to their search or activities of life. It implies that man is desirous of "happiness" and "joy." It also implies that their is a "way" to this happiness and joy. With that said we read the above proverb: It is a sweet to have your desire realized. The key to the proverb is at the beginning of the second line: It begins with the word "But" showing a contrast of the second line with the first line. And, the contrast, stated explicitly, is that if someone doesn't "turn away from evil" they will not "realize" their reached desire. Foolish people are truly exposed by the truth of this proverb. Only a fool would pursue evil at the cost of happiness and joy - at the cost of reaching their real desire. Instead a fool pursues evil and gets shame rather than sweetness to the soul. It is hard to imagine anyone will pursue evil over happiness. But, they do. The problem begins when evil makes itself look so nice and pleasing. Note the story of Proverbs 7. In that chapter, Solomon dresses Folly as a prostitute and the young, naive man runs after her. In the end, we see that destruction comes upon them. But, those who seek a Godly desire will find it. In fact, Jesus said that in the first sermon He preached:
Matthew 5:6 (ESV Strong's)
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Jesus is telling us that the “desire” should be to pursue righteousness. If we do, we will be “filled.”
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