Proclamation:
“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.” Proverbs 26:4-5 (NIV)
Explanation:
These words
were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King Solomon. Here, Solomon offers the ways of responding
to a fool. The first way is not to
respond to the fool at all. To argue or
debate with a fool will take you down to his level. The second way is to try to correct, teach,
or enlighten him by telling him the truth and then end the conversation.
Application:
These two
verses are not contradictions. They
offer two different courses of action for answering a fool. We should not allow ourselves to be drawn
down to his level. Sometimes, the best
response is not to respond at all. We
cannot help everybody; some people should just be left to their foolishness. However, sometimes his folly needs to be
corrected and that should be done with wisdom and self-control, reproving him
sharply, and exposing his error.
Correction may be required, depending upon the situation but prolonged
debate is not wise. Discernment is
necessary in order to determine whether not a fool should be answered or
ignored. He is to be answered when there
is hope of doing him good, or to prevent ill impressions being made upon others,
or to correct the wrong information which is being disseminated to others.
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