Of Proverbs and Fools

For Friday, October 5, 2007
Proverbs 26:7

Like a lame man's legs, which hang useless,
is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

Like a man given a tool for which he has neither knowledge or skill to use, so is the rational proverb for a fool. He does not know what to do with the knowledge. Indeed, he is likely to twist the proverb to mean the opposite of what it teaches. The problem of the fool is not that he is rebellious and refuses to learn, but that he is delusional about truth. He cannot see what others so clearly see.

Why he is that way is another matter. Some are born with mental deficiencies and cannot process accurately the world around them. Others are made foolish. They are raised in ignorance and taught wrongly. Then others make themselves foolish by rejecting submission to God. As Romans 1:21 states, "For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened."

What then can be done for such fools. Foremost is to pray for them. Ultimately, it is not their minds that need educating, but their hearts that need transformation. That is the work of the Holy Spirit. But we are to use discernment in communicating with them. That includes knowing when not to speak. It includes processing what the fool is able to handle, and thinking through how to communicate. A simple speaking the truth may not be the answer. Sometimes you may have to speak "according to his folly"; at other times you may need to speak sternly against his folly.

The bottomline is to avoid the mistake of the fool which is to speak without thinking clearly. You need to be in control of your heart and mind; you need to be observant. You need to let the proverb you have learned to settle in your soul so that you are not merely passing on a proverb but letting it pass through you.