Answer not 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.” (Proverbs 26:4) These statements appear contradictory but are not. The first warns that if we respond to a fool with equal foolishness we’ll be just as silly. The second tells us that we should correct a fool, because if we don’t, he’ll think he’s smarter than he really is.
Proverbs as obscure as these are rarely quoted nowadays, and we are the poorer for it. Wisdom that’s obvious to all is not; it’s just knowledge.
The Jewish leaders in the time of Jesus were inconsistent; they were like children who wanted others to dance to whatever tune they played. John the Baptist drank no wine, but his opponents said he had a demon. Jesus drank wine and they called him a drunk!
Personalizing the wisdom they lacked, Jesus said: “Wisdom is justified by her children.” In time, the things we say will be justified by the good things they produce. Meanwhile it’s best not to look for logic where none exists.
“I have seen servants riding on horses, and princes walking as servants on the earth.” (Ecclesiastes 10:7) Who promotes unworthy persons to positions of power? Well-meaning but clueless voters more often than not. Bureaucrats hold the reins these days. King Solomon wrote 3000 years ago, and little has changed. So, let’s put some proverbs into today’s situations.
“If the spirit of the ruler rises up against you, leave not your place; for yielding pacifies great offences.” (Ecclesiastes 10:4) If the managing director is upset with you — stop what you’re doing! When he sees that you’re sorry for having done it he’ll get over it.
“He that observes the wind shall not sow; and he that regards the clouds shall not reap.” (Ecclesiastes 11:4) Investing when the share market is unsettled and cashing in a matured investment when the market is gloomy are both risky moves, yet inaction can also be risky.
“A wise man’s heart is at his right hand; but a fool’s heart is at his left.” (Ecclesiastes 10:2) If you are naturally left-handed the reverse applies. The right hand of most people is their strongest. Smart people play to their strengths rather than their weaknesses, but the hearts of those who are stupid don’t see the difference, which might well be why many of them watch trash shows on television.
“You shall not boil a baby goat in its mother’s milk.” (Exodus 23:19) The life of the founder of a successful business has nothing in common with the aim of the one who wants to take it over and strip it of its assets, without thought as to the work that went into it. Some things are simply inappropriate.
“You shall not plow (plough) with an ox and an ass together.” (Deuteronomy 22:10) There’s no sense in linking two staff members when it’s obvious one can’t pull the same weight. “Don’t be unequally yoked together with unbelievers,” wrote the apostle Paul, with this in mind (2 Corinthians 6:14). It’s a rule that applies to partnerships.
“Don’t muzzle the ox that treads out the grain.” (Deuteronomy 25:4) Give your staff a bit of incentive because every day they do the same-old-same-old so you can turn a profit. (This principle was important enough for the apostle Paul to quote it twice (1 Corinthians 9:9; 1 Timothy 5:18).
“Where there are no oxen the stable is clean; but much gain comes from the strength of the ox.” (Proverbs 14:4) It’s a quandary but growth has side issues. But an increase in sales and an untidy desktop is better than very few sales and a tidy one.
“The lot is cast into the lap; but the disposal thereof is in the hands of the LORD.” (Proverbs 16:33) Your destiny was not determined by a random act of chance. It was God who got you where you are. Life is not a gamble: God knew every “roll of the dice” before your life began.
“Even a fool who remains silent is considered wise, for by saying nothing he is considered intelligent.” (Proverbs 17:28) An unlikely scenario because a fool finds it hard to keep his mouth closed. But he would do well to maintain the charade by nodding approvingly at the decisions of the managing director.
“The man who speaks first seems to have a good case — until the second speaker questions it.” (Proverbs 18:17) If he had consulted his wife over breakfast, he might have concluded that an unthought through view not presented is preferable to a weak one presented.
“Why give a fool money to buy wisdom when he hasn’t sense enough to know that it can’t be bought, no matter how much is offered?” (Proverbs 17:16) That would be like sending someone out into the Sahara Desert for a cold ice cream, or into the Arctic Circle for a hot chocolate.
May these words of wisdom from King Solomon prove helpful in your home or office. It’s a pity, though, that a man so smart would be so dumb as to have had a harem of 700 wives, plus an additional 300 concubines. Wise in some things, not all that smart in others. You are smarter than that.