Text:

4 Answer not a fool according to his folly,
    lest you be like him yourself.
⁵ Answer a fool according to his folly,
    lest he be wise in his own eyes. (Proverbs 26:4-5)

Questions:

• Have you ever asked yourself if it was wise to respond to someone?
• Have you ever responded and then later regretted doing so?
• Have you ever not responded and later wished you had?

If you’re like I am, you probably answered yes to each of the above queries.

That’s the heart of what Solomon speaks to in the above proverb. There are times when it’s wise to just let some folks go; it’s what the Bible pictures as casting pearls before swine. Some folks are just a lost cause. You can try to teach them but you’re wasting your time. They remain bent on being obtuse, and God says to shake the dust from your sandals and drive on. Otherwise, it’s a waste of your time and theirs.

Then there are other times when not speaking to an issue is deleterious. Failing to speak up, failing to address error, etc. can sometimes be a way of the coward. I know there are many times when I sit in meetings and hear a bunch of psychobabble about how to address spiritual issues, and think to myself, I’m surrounded by moral idiots. These pop psychology bromides have about as much depth as a kiddie pool. When I’m hurting, or when another soldier is hurting, or life and death are at stake, I don’t want happy-clappy cliches; I want truth and depth.

Encouragement: When does the wise person respond, and when should he remain silent? That’s the issue in these two verses from Proverbs. The wisdom comes in learning to distinguish between audiences. Some folks are just a waste of your time and theirs; they’re not teachable. So, in sum, move on. At other times, however, the loving and right thing to do is to act with grace and courage by telling the truth–and sometimes that truth may be perceived as hard. But it’s truth that saves.