Much is said about fools, but we really don’t think of some people this way.  And yet, there are a lot of foolish people.

Being a fool is not about whether you are smart or not.  Being a fool is about how you live.

A fool here in chapter 26 is

— Lacks good choices (v. 3)
— Not dependable (v. 6)
— Has no wisdom or understanding (v. 7)
— Lacks sense (v. 10)

There is much to be said about fools, but basically foolish people are those who care mainly about themselves, are lazy to grow and mature as people, they are not dependable, and they have no wisdom but speak foolishness.

But what about this one.  Isn’t this a contradiction?

“Don’t answer a fool according to his foolishness or you’ll be like him yourself.  Answer a fool according to his foolishness or he’ll become wise in his own eyes” (v. 4-5).

It seems like two different things–answer/don’t answer.  But it isn’t when you read it again.  It’s saying if you answer a fool the same way a fool speaks, you become just like him.  Instead, answer a fool the way his foolishness deserves, not like him.  Otherwise if you answer like him and join his ranks, you become just like him, and he thinks himself wise.

Years ago, Reverend Henry Ward Beecher said he received a letter of criticism, and the last page had on it only one word, “Fool.”

Beecher’s comment was: “It was the first time I have ever received a letter from anyone who signed his name but forgot the message!”