Good morning! I often find myself looking for truth in every area of my life. First and foremost, I look to God as the source of ALL truth, studying His Word and doing my best to apply it to my life. But its not just that, in all situations I want to know the truth to be able to decide what to say or what to do.
Oh so often Josh will come home from school complaining about what someone did to him and its SO MUCH work trying to pry the truth from him. All you parents out there know exactly what I’m talking about! If I went strictly based on what Josh initially said, I would be driving myself down to the school wanting to talk with his teacher and give her a piece of my mind for letting another child treat my son like he was explaining. But I know better, many times I am able to find out that Josh did something to antagonize the other child and there was a reason they acted out toward Josh.
Many times our life is like this – we base our life on our feelings and thoughts, rather than the truth. It is TOO HARD to figure out what the truth in God’s Word says about a particular topic, so we go with what makes sense to us in the moment.
If I prematurely went to Josh’s teacher without knowing the full story, I would walk out of her classroom with egg all over my face and my tail between my legs. I have to put in the work to find out the truth to act appropriately.
The same thing is true about God’s Word – we have to put in the work to find out how to approach every situation. There are these two scriptures in the book of Proverbs that have spun my head around a couple of times. Take a moment to read them and you will know exactly what I’m talking about!
“Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him.”
Proverbs 26:4
“Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes.”
Proverbs 26:5
Do you see the same thing I saw so many times! Did I just find a contradiction in the Bible?! ABSOLUTELY NOT! The Word of God has NO ERRORS so there must be an explanation!
When you look at the study notes and the commentaries for these two scriptures, you will notice that they are two ways of dealing with the same person – a person who wants nothing to do with reason or understanding.
To NOT answer a fool according to his folly means not to be caught up in sensless conversations that will bear no fruit in the foolish persons life or yours. Don’t answer a question that should never have been asked in the first place.
To answer a fool according to his folly means to answer in a manner that addresses their foolishness directly. The reason for doing this is to provide understanding so they do not continue down the same path of deception.
Now the choice of how to respond depends on the situation and requires a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit! The last thing we want to do is walk away from a situation where the other person has a negative view of God because of what we say or do.
Sometimes we have to walk away from a conversation, sometimes we have to face it head on, but we have to remember that in either situation we are ALWAYS representing Jesus!
Heavenly Father, we recognize this morning that You are the source of ALL truth! Help us to know the truth, live the truth, and stand up for the truth when necessary. Holy Spirit, help us to walk through each situation with love and grace, to set a good example of who You are!
Be Transformed 