This past Sunday, we discussed Paul’s prayer for the church in Philippi: “It is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ” (Philippians 1:9-10). Paul prays that their love would be based on God's knowledge and wisdom. Love is not based on our perception of what is loving but God's. I mentioned a proverb in regards to our love abounding in discernment so that we are blameless.
Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you become like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes. (Proverbs 26:4-5)
This proverb appears to be a contradiction or some riddle. So do we answer a fool or not – it depends. There is no hard and fast rule in dealing with fools. It depends on the situation, as these two idioms reveal: 'Too many cooks spoil the broth' and 'Many hands make light work.’ They cannot apply to the same situation at the same time. We need love and wisdom to discern when we ignore fools and when we rebuke them.
First, we are not to answer a fool because we may become like them. To “answer a fool according to his folly” is responding in the same emotionally insulting language the fool uses. It is tempting to retaliate rhetorically to foolishness, not realizing we are acting like the fool.
Yet we are sometimes encouraged to answer a fool according to his folly. A particular folly needs a response because of its influence on the fool, and so there is no credence to be given to what he says. The goal is not necessarily to expect to win over the fool but just to put his foolishness in its place. The desire is not for the fool to be wise in his own eyes. Yet, this also might be the danger in answering a fool – to be wise in your own eyes.
There is a lot of foolish talk out there, whether it's politics, social issues, etc., that is easy to mock. And as Christians, we quickly see the foolishness and destruction of the ‘anything goes mentality’ as if whatever we desire is always best for us. Making decisions by what feels good or feels right is not only far from God but far from just a reasonable approach to life. We know destruction and unhappiness are coming. The danger is that as we answer foolish positions, we can become wise in our own eyes and be worse off than the fool.
Proverbs 26:12 says, “Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” Let’s live to approve what is excellent and be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.
