HOW TO DEAL WITH A FOOL

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the backs of fools!

Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him.

Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes.

Sending a message by the hands of a fool is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking poison.

Like the useless legs of one who is lame is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

Like tying a stone in a sling is the giving of honor to a fool.

Like a thornbush in a drunkard’s hand is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

Like an archer who wounds at random is one who hires a fool or any passer-by.

As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly.

Proverbs 26:3-11     

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In the Book of Proverbs, you’ll find a lot of reference to wisdom. It makes sense, right? I mean, when we think about the matter of wise men in the Bible, perhaps none come to mind more that David’s son who followed him to the throne of Israel and was blessed with wisdom to lead after requesting it from God (1 Kings 3:1-14). And this wise king Solomon told us that the proverbs were to be used to gain wisdom, understanding, insight, and instruction in prudent behavior so one can do what is right and just and fair (Proverbs 1:1-3).

Now, if there are those who are wise, then there must be people who aren’t, those who would reject proverbs or any other source of true wisdom and guidance and direction on righteous behavior. The proverbs have a lot to say about these people as well, those who are referred to as fools.

As we look at the ten verses from Proverbs, Chapter 26, we find Solomon giving us seven distinct ways that fools are to be dealt with for we most certainly will encounter them in our lives as often as we will encounter the wise. Let me break them down to you:

1. You deal with a fool through discipline.

A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the backs of fools! Proverbs 26:3

Now, I’m not saying we should engage in whipping a fool like a horse, or putting a bridle on the like a donkey, or striking them on the back with a rod and I don’t think the Lord is telling us to do this either. The point here is that a fool is not going to change their ways unless they are disciplined and tamed in some way and the Lord is just the kind of power that can make that happen. There’s little doubt that He has a knack for correcting us when we need it most and driving us from sinfulness toward righteousness. The hope here is that a fool would see the wrongs of their ways and choose to receive the Lord’s will and way with its associated wisdom. For it’s the only way a fool can transfer to the ranks of the wise.

2. You deal with a fool by not allowing yourself to be influenced by them.

Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him. Proverbs 26:4

When people do something foolish to someone, the person offended by the foolishness often reciprocates with foolish, malicious behavior of their own. In answering the fool’s folly with foolishness, the offended person becomes no better than the fool. In other words, they become fools themselves. The call in this verse is to allow yourself to be influenced by a fool lest you become just like them.

3. You deal with a fool by letting them know they are behaving foolishly.

Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes. Proverbs 26:5

We saw in point one where fools need disciplined for their foolish behavior. This verse adds that they should also be rebuked. Allowing one to make foolish statements without rebuttal is akin to making the fool feel like they spoke words of discernment and truth. Call ridiculous talk just what it is, ridiculous and let the fool know that their words are not close to being wise.

4. You deal with a fool by not trusting on them.

Sending a message by the hands of a fool is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking poison. Proverbs 26:6

If you cut off your feet, you have just disabled yourself and the ability to do many things you could do when ambulatory. Drink poison and you’ll be more than disabled. You’ll be incapacitated or worse yet dead. This is what relying on a fool to deliver a message is compared to. The Lord is telling us here to not waste our time on trusting a fool. Turn instead to someone wise and dependable. 

5. You deal with a fool by not relying on them.

Like the useless legs of one who is lame is a proverb in the mouth of a fool. Proverbs 26:7

Like a thornbush in a drunkard’s hand is a proverb in the mouth of a fool. Proverbs 26:9

Like an archer who wounds at random is one who hires a fool or any passer-by. Proverbs 26:10

  

The lame have legs but cannot use them or rely on them. So it is with a fool who is given wisdom. In their foolishness, they are unable to process, discern, and put into practice the wisdom imparted to them. Instead, they actually will end up doing more damage than good as an archer who fires arrows around without aim or a drunkard who feels they can handle a thornbush without experiencing injury to themselves.  

6. You deal with a fool by not honoring them.

Like tying a stone in a sling is the giving of honor to a fool. Proverbs 26:8

If David had tied the stones to his sling, he surely would not have had much success fighting against the mighty Philistine giant, Goliath. It would have been a foolish action to take before entering into combat. Equally foolish would be considering giving honor to a fool as it goes against the very nature of reason itself. Foolishness is nothing short of sin and the Lord does not honor sin. Neither should we.

7. You deal with a fool by understanding they will not learn from their foolishness on their own.

As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly. Proverbs 26:11

Maybe one of the grosser analogies you will find in the scriptures but it does effectively underscore the fact that a fool will continue to be a fool, despite how ridiculous their actions are. It makes absolutely no sense that a dog would return to its own vomit just as much as it makes no sense for a fool to continue to dabble in behavior that the Lord despises and know and trust that He despises sin and anyone who chooses it over the wisdom He offers freely.

In the end translation from these verses, I hope we will take away three main points:

1. The Bible is clear on how we are to deal with those who choose to be foolish.

2. The Lord will not favor someone who rejects His wisdom and instead opts for foolishness.

3. Any fool who reads this and still continues to be foolish had better stand by because if a fool is to be disciplined, and the scriptures affirm that they should, then they can expect the Lord to bring His rod of authority on their backs just as a horse is whipped or a donkey bridled.

Frankly, it would be a lot easier to just turn from foolishness toward righteousness on your own if you ask me.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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