Walking with the Wise #480: Discern the Moment

“Be sure to answer the foolish arguments of fools,

or they will become wise in their own estimation.”
—Proverbs 26:5 (NLT)

There is great need for discernment in life. What is applicable in one situation may not be applicable in the next. Today’s proverb teaches us to be discerning in dealing with fools, as does the proverb before it. The two together look like this,

“Answer not a fool according to his folly,
lest you be like him yourself.
Be sure to answer the foolish arguments of fools,
or they will become wise in their own estimation.”

The first proverb teaches us to not answer a fool according to his folly, but the second does. Are the two contradictory? No, the purpose of the proverbs is to show us that what may be true in one situation may be different in another. There are times when we are not to answer a fool according to his folly because we may look like a fool ourselves in doing so. But there are times when we have to answer a fool according to his stupidity to show how stupid he really is.

Allow me to illustrate. Taking Jesus as our supreme example, we see Him modeling both of these approaches. After Jesus had been arrested, he was sent to Herod for questioning. Luke writes,

“When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him. So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer”—Luke 23:8-9.

Jesus was making sure not to answer Herod’s foolishness. Herod really didn’t care who Jesus was; He only wanted to see the miraculous, so Jesus kept silent.

The second part of the proverb can be seen at different times in Jesus’ life. One particular instance involved the woman caught in the act of adultery in John 8. The scribes and Pharisees brought her before Jesus, not because they really cared about the adultery, but because they wanted to “test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him”—John 8:6. If they really wanted to apply the law, they would have brought the man who was with her, but he wasn’t there, conveniently left behind while this woman faced her death alone.

The law did call for the death of adulterers—both the man and the woman (cf. Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22). So, while the Pharisees and scribes were right, their real goal was to trap Jesus. They were using the law for their own benefit, hiding behind spiritual language in order to fulfill their sinful desire to harm Jesus. But Jesus saw through their ruse and stooped to write in the ground. Unwilling to back down, perhaps believing that Jesus was finally caught, they continue to press him as he knelt down and wrote something on the ground. Finally, Jesus stood up and gave his classic and wonderful response, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her”—John 8:7.

In one fell swoop, he masterfully dealt them an ingenious blow that did both fulfill the requirements of the law, and revealed their sinful hearts' desire. By saying that they could throw the stone, he acknowledged the law, but by prefacing it with, “Let him who is without sin among you…” he was showing them the reality of their own sin. If they were to stand accused, then they would be convicted as well, knowing well the sins they had committed many times over in their heart, or in deed, but for which they had never been caught.

Jesus answered them according to their folly by giving them the answer they wanted, while at the same time revealing the intent of the law that exposed the sin in their own hearts. And by answering them in the way that he did, they were able to see the error of their way in that instance, which is why they dropped their rocks, one by one, beginning with the older ones who were more keenly aware of their sin, having had to deal with it over the years, followed by those who were younger.

Jesus’ example is to remind us that there is not a one-size-fits-all approach in each and every situation. Our responsibility is to be discerning and rely on the Spirit to guide us so that we might be truly wise, in one instance keeping silent, while in another, giving an answer. The important thing for us to remember is that God’s Word is trustworthy and applicable in every situation, though differing in which verse may need to be applied at certain times.

Rely on the Spirit of God, order your life to the Word and will of God, and allow Him to guide you into all wisdom so that His name might be magnified and you might experience the joy that comes from doing that which He has designed you to do. Amen.