Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
Lest you also be like him.
Answer a fool as his folly deserves,
Lest he be wise in his own eyes.
--Proverbs 26:4-5
Which is it?
Do you answer a fool?
Do you not answer a fool?
How can you know?
Assuming that your answer will be true and perceptive, Solomon gives a reason for both answering and for withholding an response. He wisely offers reasoning for both cases. So, we must recognize that the best response will require wisdom.
How can we discern?
I believe the answer is found by examining the two possible results.
Solomon’s reasoning for withholding an answer from a fool is: Lest you be like him.
Things start with a foolish person making a foolish statement. It is natural to follow your impulse to correct him. Yet, after doing so, he answers back with more foolishness. Then, you answer again. The cycle continues….
Without thinking it through, you find yourself engaged in the same fruitless ranting or babbling just like the fool. You are doing nothing more than providing a platform for endless foolishness.
Stop that!
Avoid that!
Don’t become a fool yourself!
Assuming that your answer will be true and perceptive, Solomon gives a reason for both answering and for withholding an response. He wisely offers reasoning for both cases. So, we must recognize that the best response will require wisdom.
I believe the answer is found by examining the two possible results.
Solomon’s reasoning for withholding an answer from a fool is: Lest you be like him.
Things start with a foolish person making a foolish statement. It is natural to follow your impulse to correct him. Yet, after doing so, he answers back with more foolishness. Then, you answer again. The cycle continues….
Without thinking it through, you find yourself engaged in the same fruitless ranting or babbling just like the fool. You are doing nothing more than providing a platform for endless foolishness.
Stop that!
Avoid that!
Don’t become a fool yourself!
Keeping away from strife is an honor for a man,
But any fool will quarrel.
--Proverbs 20:3
In the second case Solomon advised to answer a fool, but, again, consider his reasoning: Lest he be wise in his own eyes.
In this case you are encouraged to answer, but with a purpose, not a warning. Your answer is to illuminate the truth of the matter so that the foolish one is shown to be foolish.
If the foolish person can listen, then he will benefit when corrected. This advice is especially applicable when other people are involved. It can help those who may be naïve yet are able to listen. They may benefit from the fool’s correction. Consider...
When the scoffer is punished,
the naïve becomes wise;
But when the wise is instructed,
he receives knowledge.
--Proverbs 21:11
Solomon’s wise advice is never more applicable than in our day. It is tempting to splash our personal opinions all over social media in response to all kinds of foolishness...just like everyone else. However, we need to be cautious. We need to be wise. It is fruitless to engage in dialogue with a scoffer whether in person or online, whether in public or in private. However, there may be times in which a wise word will be beneficial to a naïve foolish person or others who can listen.
In the end, it is not about you and your wisdom. Think about the benefit to others. Look away from yourself and your cleverness. Then you will know how to respond.
Be wise.
Mark Stinnett
October 31, 2021
Thanks for the good thoughts.
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