ANSWERING A FOOL

Proverbs 26.4-5
ANSWERING A FOOL
"Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes."

THE TWO SAYINGS APPEAR TO CONTRADICT each other. One says, "Do not answer a fool." The other says, "Answer him." But as is the nature of proverbs, it sometimes takes two corresponding proverbs to complete the picture. The apparent discrepancy may be reconciled by another wisdom saying, "There is a time for everything...a time to be silent and a time to speak" (Eccl 3.1 , 7).

Whether we answer someone depends on the situation. We have the example of our Lord Jesus as he stood before Pontius Pilate and King Herod (Luke 23.1-9). He answered Pilate but he said nothing to Herod — all the more amazing since Pilate asked only one question while Herod "plied him with many questions" (v.9). The Roman governor evidently asked his question ("Are you the king of the Jews?") in order to seek information. Herod, however, had no such interest. He only wanted a performance from Jesus of his miracles.

To decide whether we should answer someone, we need to know why he is asking. Is it out of a sincere desire to seek the truth? Or is it only a ploy to evade the truth? An example of the latter is when someone challenges us, "Can God make a stone so heavy that He cannot lift it?" What if the answer is Yes or No? Does it make any difference to the inquirer? If we fall for his ploy, we will be answering him "according to his folly", i.e. talking like him and becoming like him.

There are times when the folly of a fool is self-evident in his foolish talk. We do not need to say anything further to confirm it. However, there are times when the folly should be exposed for what it is. In such a case, we should not let the person go away thinking that we have no answer when we do have one. If so, he may think he is wise (in his own eyes) since we cannot answer him. We may need to give a silly answer to his silly question to expose his folly.

The Good News Bible paraphrases the verses as follows: "If you answer a silly question, you are just as silly as the person who asked it. Give a silly answer to a silly question, and the one who asked it will realize that he's not as clever as he thinks." Jesus was asked all kinds of questions by people (e.g. Luke 10.25-29; Matt 21.23-27). We can learn from him when to answer and how.

Do I know when to speak and when not to?