Who You Callin’ a Fool? - A Christian View Point

By T. M. Moore at colsoncenter.org

"Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes." Proverbs 26:4, 5

These are surely two of the most enigmatic verses in all of Scripture. At first glance, they seem to contradict one another. But a closer examination of Proverbs 26:4, 5 reveals two clear lines of instruction: First, we must be prepared to “answer” the fool. The word, “answer,” implies a conversation in which we are responding to the claims, questions, and challenges of another, giving testimony from our own worldview and convictions. Second, we must be careful how we “answer” people, how we conduct such conversations. Our goal must be to help them see the error of their thinking; at the same time, we must be careful that we do not ourselves stumble into error and thus end up reinforcing false ideas. Thus, two commands – one implied, the other explicit – are in view here: we must engage the fools of this age in conversation about their beliefs, and we must do so in way that truly enables them to see their folly, whether or not they choose to abandon it.

But this instruction carries two further implications – first, that we know who the “fools” are, and, second, that we take up the challenge of engaging them in conversation. Whom are we calling a fool? More specifically, to whom do the Scriptures refer when they use this term? In Biblical parlance anyone is a fool who denies the existence or relevance of God and who thus becomes a law unto himself in trying to make his way in life (cf. Ps. 14:1; Eph. 5:15-17). The Hebrew word appears to mean something like living within one’s own little world – like stupid people do, or those who make decisions and choices from the gut rather than from careful consideration of all the facts. The fool thus does not use sound judgment and inhabits a world of his own creation, one that has no place in it for God or His Word.

Part of the believer’s calling is so to love such people that we actually seek them out – as Jesus did the lost of His day (Lk. 19:11) – and begin to engage them in ongoing conversations about their views. Our purpose in this must be, as Paul explains, to correct those who are living self-contradictory, unworkable worldviews, with patience and gentleness, so that they might come to their senses and escape the clutches of the father of lies, who is fueling their self-deception (2 Tim. 2:24-26). This will require that we become more active in reaching out to lost people, getting to know our neighbors, engaging in ongoing conversations in which we will have abundant opportunities to answer and testify from the perspective of our Christian worldview. But if this is going to be the case, we shall have to sanctify Jesus Christ as Lord in our lives, so that we love and obey Him in all things, for this will engender in us the kind of hope that others can see, and that causes them to ask a reason for what we believe (1 Pet. 3:15).