Read through Proverbs in 31 days, Today’s reading is entitled “Should You Answer A Fool?”
Read Proverbs 26 – Contradictions. Those who heavily desire to discredit the accuracy of God’s Holy Word will take phrases out of their intended context with a claim of contradiction. Read verses 4 and 5 in today’s scripture and draw your own conclusion. In these two sequential verses, you are told not to answer a fool and the exact opposite, or so it seems. What types of stories have you heard from people who may be considered a “fool?” Are all lies and exaggerations from all people exactly the same? Certainly not, some require a response of correction while others are better ignored. Let’s take a look at a couple of examples. Maybe someone of influence says a negative untruth about your spouse or significant other. Others are listening, believing and likely to spread this gossip. Do you respond? Now we have the exact same situation except that you are one of the recipients of this gossip. Should you even acknowledge such an untruth? Yes, those two verses present a contradiction only when you are unwilling to read deeper into their meaning.
Let’s take a look at more important points for today.
- While you have not accepted Godly wisdom you are still considered a fool, or worse.
- God protects His people from unearned curses just as he does the smallest birds.
- Don’t trust the foolish with anything important because that is as effective as drinking poison. Don’t waste proverbs or wisdom on fools since they are unwilling to accept wise guidance.
- Those who are lazy may consider themselves the smartest people on earth, while they don’t even have the wisdom to lift the spoon to their mouths.
- A quarrelsome person can start a fight as easily as lighting dry wood while a wise person can stop the fight by walking away.
As we have seen earlier, it is likely that you have had dealings with people who are considered fools in your mind. What do you use as a basis for that determination? Maybe because the person tends to act before thinking? Could it be due to an immature approach to life? Well, in today’s reading we learned the rather straightforward scriptural definition of a “fool” – someone who has not accepted Godly Wisdom. In all honesty, we can apply that definition to almost anyone. The truth is that we cannot know what someone truly means by their actions and probably will not know when the foolish actions have been repented of and God’s forgiveness requested. Yes, the label of “fool” is easy to apply to a particular person but only God is appropriately qualified to make that application.
Since we are not all-knowing, how can we know which “foolish” people not to trust? Listen to their speech, watch their actions, make the judgment of whether you consider this person to be a believer in God or someone who may consider an introduction. If it is your opinion that a specific person is unwilling to listen to God’s Wisdom, you have judged correctly. No, you have not judged the person, but your ability to interact safely with that individual. This judgment doesn’t carry with it any right to announce your decision or warn others because that is a decision only God can make. Your judgments are for your benefit and application to yourself and/or your family if they desire. We are given specific attributes to be used in this judgment – laziness and quarrelsome are mentioned specifically in today’s reading, although there are many more. Once again, though, this individual may appear to be one way in interactions with you while approaching others with the opposite character. Allowing personal judgments to turn into gossip makes someone into the “fool” discussed previously, so be sure to always consider WWJHMTD (What Would Jesus Have Me To Do).
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