Fools Are Hard to Be With. So…

Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge. (Proverbs 14:7)

When I read this verse, I think of something that I hear Dave Ramsey say often, “You can’t fix stupid.” I don’t remember the examples of contexts that Ramsey uses for pithy conclusion, but I think there is some elements of truths to his claim. Some people don’t want to be helped. Some people don’t want to listen to the instruction of others. And thus, these people are fools.

It’s hard to help someone who doesn’t want to be helped.

And Solomon tells us why we shouldn’t invest our time and energy in trying to help a good who doesn’t want our help. Just look at vs. 6. He says that the fool scoffs at wisdom. In other words, he mocks it. He doesn’t want it, because he doesn’t understand what it is for. And his pride is preferable to him.

And really, that is the heart of the fool, is it not? A prideful man is a fool, because the prideful man only wants to listen to himself. He doesn’t want divine knowledge or the wisdom of other counselors. He wants his own input. He wants his own counsel.

Thus, what kind of help can we give when this person won’t listen to begin with? Well, Solomon says, “You can’t. So don’t try.”

What should we do instead? Pray for them to see their prideful heart, and then follow Paul’s instruction to find faithful men who will enjoy, appreciate and long for the instruction that the fool is rejecting (II Tim 2:2).