Proverbs 26:4. Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him.
Have you ever tried to convince someone foolish of something? I have. It rarely goes well. That’s what Solomon is warning us about in this proverb – answer not a fool. You may remember that in Proverbs there are all different kinds of fools. The simple fool – childlike, naïve. The silly fool – never serious, irresponsible. The stupid fool – overconfident, rash, ignores God. The stubborn fool – won’t listen, argumentative, perverse. The scornful fool – hates God, narcissistic, wicked.
The fool in our verse for today is the stupid fool. He’s sort of right in the middle of the fool spectrum. The proverb isn’t saying to never answer this kind of fool. It says don’t answer this fool according to their folly. What does that mean? It means you can’t talk to a fool like a fool. Never lower yourself to the level of the fool in order to convince a fool of something. Don’t cast your pearls before swine, as Jesus said.
Why not? Lest you also be like him.
The fastest way to become a fool is to engage a fool in their folly. Returning insults. Tit for tat arguments. Defensiveness. Simply put, don’t let yourself be drawn into another person’s foolishness. (Check your social media comments for examples)
Our Savior came to Earth, lowering himself to the position of a servant, but never to the place of a fool. He came to a planet of fools without ever becoming a fool himself. Even at his bogus trial he did not answer the fools according to their folly, but chose to trust God instead.
1 Peter 2:22-24. 22He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
Can we do the same?
Of course, the answer is yes, we can. We can place our pride and defensiveness to the side and choose to trust the Lord instead. Listening to Christ is the cure. Replace the fool’s voice with the voice of our Lord. What does Jesus say about you? What is his position on the matter? We must learn to let the voice of our Good Shepherd drown out all the other voices of the foolish thieves that would break in and rob us of our joy in Christ. It’s not just a matter of learning to bite your tongue (as we will see in the next verse), but a matter of learning to discern the truth over foolish lies.
Remember, in Christ we are called to lower ourselves to the position of servant, but never the position of fool. With the mind and affections of Christ we can answer the fool without becoming like the fool. We can speak truth in love with the goal of attaining the fullness of the unity of Christ. We can make our engagement with fools about to live is Christ, rather than about to live is to win this argument.
You: Do you argue with fools?
You in Christ: How does trusting your union with Christ allow you to listen to God’s voice over the fool’s voice?
Christ in you: What’s the difference between answering a fool, and answering a fool according to their folly? How can Christ in you help you to discern the difference?
Pray: Father, let the Spirit in me guide me into what to say, when to say it, and who to say it to, when I am engaged by fools. Amen.
To Live is Christ 