Proverbs 26:4-7 An Answer
An answer is a response to something someone does or says. But what kind of answer do you give when the action is one of foolishness?
I wonder exactly what kinds of acts Solomon is referring to. Are they where someone is doing something dangerous? Is it something illegal? Is it something of poor judgment? Or is he speaking of acts like the Pharisees did when questioning Jesus’ authority? Could he be referring to all of these? Could that be why his directions regarding an answer seem to be opposite of one another? Make the answer fit the instance.
My husband has a habit that drives me NUTS! When I tell him something, his first response is, “Really?” It frustrates me so much that I have taken to answering him with, “No, I lied to you.” The first time I said it he stopped short and gave me a funny look. Then we talked about the issue, but it didn’t stop. He continues to do this. I don’t always answer with my frustrated reply but one time when I did, he came back with, “I hate it when you do that!” And my reply was, “And I hate it when you say ‘Really’ every time I tell you something like you are doubting what I just said.”
He still does it but my “No, I lied to you” are a lot less often and usually under my breath as I walk away. Apparently, my attempt to answer his response in a way that would change it didn’t work. In Solomon’s words, I got caught up in his folly by the way I answered him.
When Jesus answered the Pharisees in their attempts to trap Him, the trap usually sprung back on them. He didn’t feed into their folly but exposed it for all who were really listening. It didn’t improve their behavior either. What it did do though was give those present a chance to think about things they might not have considered before. Most of the people were seeking Jesus for His help with their physical needs. By engaging with the Pharisees, He was seeing to the spiritual needs as well. His responses certainly made His disciples stop and think. He answered them according to their questions (folly) lest they be wise in their own eyes.
Sometimes people do foolish things just to get noticed. Evil Knievel certainly was one of those people. He would do the most outlandish and dangerous stunts with his motor cycle. I don’t know if it was because he felt invincible, thought this was the only way he would get attention, or was trying to work out some driving demon in himself. He died in 2007 at the age of 69; and it wasn’t from attempting another jump. No one could stop his folly. He had to be seriously hurt enough times that he stopped himself. There are many today who have taken up dangerous and outlandish stunts as a profession. Their folly will one day bring them up short too.
On the illegal folly possibilities, it ceases to amaze me that one person can convince another to join them in “the perfect crime.” Bank robbers usually work in teams, or at least that’s what I see on television. Even kids have been known to go in together on acts that are questionable in the eyes of the law, or worse! One dares another to ____ and the other can’t resist a dare.
Probably the most ‘famous dare’ the “double dog dare” is from the move A Christmas Story where the child is dared to stick his tongue out and touch it to a frozen metal pole. That one wasn’t illegal but it was certainly poor judgment. These examples show one certainly joining another ‘fool’ in his folly and winding up just like him.
So, where does depending on a ‘fool’, or joining him in his folly, lead you? It leaves you worse off than you were to begin with. There is no hope in ‘folly’. One whose actions are always in the realm of the foolish is NOT a trustworthy person. You can depend on them to get you into trouble; NEVER out of it. The ‘wisdom’ he shares is empty, even when he tries to twist what is truly wise to fit his desires. Exercise GREAT care when you must deal with a truly ‘foolish’/dishonest/devious/wicked person. They bring no real value to your life. And their life is NOTHING you would ever truly desire.
Father God, I still have a hard time with the term “fool” in applying it to a person. I can see actions as “foolish” or “folly” but I am VERY hesitant to call anyone a “fool.” I am the judge of no man. There are a few people whom I suppose YOU would call a “fool”. Those who indulge in horrible acts upon others, either in mass or even on a single person, for their own ends. Those who would convince others to join them in these acts are probably worthy of the same label.
But what about the people who commit acts of violence saying it is for Your sake? All the battles of the Old Testament. How about when David killed his enemies and took their foreskins for a bride price? Were his acts “foolish”? Did he deliberately kill these men for that purpose alone or was he ‘harvesting’ from a regular battle what he needed for a specific purpose? Were all the battles listed in the books of Chronicles and Kings entered into for the sake of protecting Your name and preserving the pathway for Jesus? I’m going to put it this way; I GLAD I’m on this side of the promise so I don’t have to try and figure those questions out for my survival! I TRUST YOU and KNOW if there had been another way to bring about Your promise than through death, including Your own Son’s, You WOULD have taken it.
Protect my heart Holy Spirit. Although I am hesitant to call anyone a “fool” there are those that would try and drag others down with them. Please help me see their desires clearly and avoid all interactions with them. Give me insight on how to separate myself from such people and, if possible, prevent me from even meeting them in the first place.
For my little ‘frustration point’ with Steve, help me either develop a ‘blind eye’ to it, have him change, or help me understand the reason for it. If I had a reasonable explanation, it probably wouldn’t be so hard to hear. I know I get frustrated too easy sometimes. Help me in this area Holy Spirit. Grow my empathy and understanding. PLEASE! NOT by having me ‘walk a mile in his shoes’ but by letting me relate to his struggle in other ways. Ways that search for love, not judgement. Make my “answers” ones You would give. Ones full of love and healing.
