Cut and Dried?
Scripture Reading: Proverbs 26:4-5
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.
Some people look high and low for contradictions in the Bible. Here is one sitting in plain sight. Answer – Don’t answer. Which is it? There is a reason these two proverbs are placed side-by-side. If the question is, “Do I say something?” the answer isn’t cut and dried. Maybe. Maybe not. It depends.
We all prefer simple, straightforward, clear-cut answers to life’s questions. “Just tell me what to do,” is our default mode. It saves us from personal responsibility if things go sideways. “Well, I just did what he said.” The implication is, “It’s not my fault. I got bad advice.”
The thing is, not every problem and question has a simple answer. Life is not a vending machine that we drop a coin in, push “B14” because we can see what is going to drop hanging there behind the glass. It doesn’t work that way. Yes, some things do have clear answers. Not everything is multiple guess. But some decisions do require thought.
In this case (answering a fool) we can go one of two ways. We can say something or we can say nothing. How do we know which is the right path? Ask yourself, “what will be the outcome of my choice?” Am I just going to enter into a tit-for-tat and end up making myself look as foolish as the person I’m responding to? Or will my silence allow the fool to think himself wise and therefore be harmful to him and those around him?
In other words, sometimes we have to think. We have to think of consequences, outcomes, and results. We have to employ wisdom. Be wise.