Need help with Proverbs 26:4-5

tqpix said:

I do not get this two verses; any help is appreciated:

Proverbs 26:4-54 Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him. 5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.

Should we, or should we not, answer a fool?

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After a quick study Scripture reference this to Mathew 16:1-4 and mathew 21;24-27 and it appears that we shouldn't entertain thier questions but direct them back to God the father, both these reference Jesus is speaking to the pharisees and such when they were trying to trap jesus into saying things to get him in trouble...so maybe we shouldn't entertain the questions of fools???

I hope this helps some??/

tqpix said:

I do not get this two verses; any help is appreciated:

Proverbs 26:4-54 Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him. 5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.

Should we, or should we not, answer a fool?

Click to expand...

No
"but speak with a fool in your wisdom;''

What this is saying that you should answer a fool but don't do it foolishly. Once I asked a Pastor about this and he gave me this example. He ordered a pizza and the kid who brought it messed it up and the pizza was cold. When he called to pizza place the kid that had caused the problem answered and just started arguing with him. When he demanded to speak to the manager the kid just set down the phone, picked it up and pretended to be the manager. Well, he got so mad he started calling the kid an idiot. His wife who by this time was laughing about it said, 'I think there are two idiots here'.

There is nothing wrong with correcting someone or admonishing them when they are being silly or reckless. I you have children you do this on a daily basis. In this passage there is a balance, a fine line that is hard to keep your balance when walking it. Aristotle talked about this when discussing virtue, he said that for every virtue there are two extremes. One of the examples he used was courage, at one extreme there is cowardice at the other their is fearlessness. The balance he said was so hard to achieve that it could be considered rare. This balance he called the mean (balance, fulcrum, center), I think this passage is describing the exact same thing.

Grace and peace,
Mark

CEV puts it this way:

Dont make a fool of yourself by answering a fool. But if you answer any fools, show how foolish they are, so they wont feel clever.

If the fool presses the point or has you to his advantage, speak to them in wisdom, as MbiaJc said. Otherwise, it is not wise to give them a platform for speech or to give their foolishness audience. Usually, they get their audience by stirring up anger and emotion. So when they say something stupid or something that would stir up anger and resentment, be silent or they have accomplished what they wanted, and we become the less wiser for that. I hope that helps?

raphe said:

If the fool presses the point or has you to his advantage, speak to them in wisdom, as MbiaJc said. Otherwise, it is not wise to give them a platform for speech or to give their foolishness audience. Usually, they get their audience by stirring up anger and emotion. So when they say something stupid or something that would stir up anger and resentment, be silent or they have accomplished what they wanted, and we become the less wiser for that. I hope that helps?

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Amen!