“To do evil is like sport to a fool,
But a man of understanding has wisdom” (Proverbs 10:23).
Set in the context of religious behavior, Solomon presents an extreme contrast between the person who lives foolishly and the one who lives wisely. The Revised Version makes the second line clearer: “And so is wisdom to a man of understanding.”
A foolish person makes doing evil a habit: he does it so much that it becomes an ordinary course of action for him—it is his entertainment. The wise person, on the other hand, makes “wisdom” his “sport”—that is, he has made it a habit to use wisdom when making choices about his behavior.
Not only does the implied message come through loud and clear from a scriptural standpoint, but it shows common sense—doing evil brings unwelcome consequences here and also in the life to come. In contrast, acting wisely results in fewer problems in this life and puts us in a good position for the life to come.