Proverbs 26

Bible Passage:  Proverbs 26

Once again we read about fools (Pro 26:1-16) and troublemakers (26:17-28).

The chapter begins with proverbs about what is and what is not “fitting” and closes with maxims about just rewards, identifying appropriate consequences. Those who learn wisdom will observe wisdom’s laws of nature and social life and learn to make decisions that fit the situation.

Just read through the first part of the chapter again and see if you can identify with anyone of them?

Now… what do you think of Proverbs 26:4-5?

Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
Lest you also be like him.
Answer a fool according to his folly,
Lest he be wise in his own eyes.

Er… quite confusing isn’t it?

“Do not answer a fool according to his folly…”

“Answer a fool according to his folly….”

Er… will the author make up his mind???  Should we answer or not?

This puzzled me for quite a bit and I sound like a fool now, please forgive me but let me try and see if this makes sense….

As Christians, how we think and behave should be built upon the Word of God.  Only by doing this will we have the right basis of understanding and conviction.  Without the Word of God, we are just making human assumptions and presumptions of what things should be.

What do I mean by that?

For example, one of the traps that many Christians have fallen into, including myself, is to try and provide evidence of God, our True Jesus Church beliefs, our understanding of God’s Word etc… without using the Bible!  And when you agree to these terms of the debate, however, you are answering  person according to his folly.

When we are trying to debate and convince someone about God using the person’s thinking that is not built on the Bible, we will end up debating and interpreting the evidence the non-Christian way.  That means, we do not speak based on the true foundation (God’s Word) and hence interpret things correctly.  In this way, we can never “win” the argument.

This lesson was brought home to me two Sundays ago, when I just got home after being away for a long trip.  I was half groggy when I answered the door bell and there were a couple of persons at the door.  They were here to share the name of God with me.

And maybe because my mind was not very clear, or I was not thinking straight, I spent the next 20 minutes talking to them… but during that whole period, both sides did not use the Bible.  Instead, they said their piece, I gave our views… it went on and on, going nowhere fast.  Finally it dawned on me what was happening… and then I started flipping to the pages of the Bible and showed them the exact verses and had them read for themselves.  And I could see then that they became a little less sure of what they were saying and one of them even started to take down the Bible verses. And it all ended with them saying that they will be back…

So… when we enter into a discussion or try preaching without the Bible, it is just an intellectual exercise… and that is folly.

Now when we read verse 5: “Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.”, it seems to contradict verse 4.

But let’s continue with the preaching example I was using. We must first always agree that we will use the bible as the foundation of all discussions.  And by so doing, apply verse 5 to answer the skeptic the logical consequences of his folly.

I was reading about this article about student in a church-run school.  Her teacher told the class that Christians could believe in evolution and she simply refused to and openly challenged the teacher.

Apparently the principle was also the compromising sort and asked her, “If I can accept and believe in evolution, why can’t you?”

This young girls simply replied, “If you cannot believe and rely on the Genesis account, we can’ rely on anything in the Bible.  An if that is the case, we cannot accept that Jesus is really our Saviour!”

This student was answering her principal according to is folly – by pointing out the consequences for a Christian who can accept evolution without any problems!

So… it is vital that we don’t answer . . . and that we do answer.

God’s Word is powerful, when we take Him at His Word.

And it all starts with first knowing His Word.

PS:  If I have successfully confused you today, please accept my apologies.  The folly’s all mine.  Just go back to God’s Word.