Three Types of Fools

Last time we noted the two main characters in the book of Proverbs - the wise and the fool. We noted that the fool trust in his own way of thinking. The fool is one who is wise in his own eyes. The fool refuses to honor God by submitting to the truth of God.

The book of Proverbs gives us a gallery of the different types of fools. We will be confronted with three categories of fools:

The simpleton - this is one who is easily deceived or seduced. The simpletons are naïve and will believe just about anything. And in our day, the simpletons are will to embrace ideas and philosophies that are at odds with the truths found in the scriptures. The more deviant and absurd the philosophy, the quicker the simpleton is running to believe. The simpleton is willing to be enticed by sinners (those who refuse to honor God).

The Scoffer - the scoffer is one who dislikes correction. The scoffer isn't just a little uncomfortable when they are corrected, they despise correction. On the other hand, the wise person appreciates Biblical counsel or correction. The wise person will also put that counsel into practice. Since the scoffer will not receive instruction, then they remain a fool. The only thing worse than a fool is an angry fool. Another characteristic of a scoffer is that they never accept responsibility for their actions. The scoffer makes excuses for their unwise behavior and wants to blame someone else for things that they should be doing. As a result, the scoffer can never find wisdom until they humble themselves and begin fearing the Lord.

Fool - finally, the book of Proverbs uses the general phrase "fool" to describe the person, who will not receive instruction and wants to live their life independent of God's wisdom. They just react and make decisions based on how they feel, rather than what brings honor to God.

We need to understand that our culture has influenced us to dismiss the sin of foolishness. We certainly don't behave as though it is offensive to God. However, note what Proverbs 26:11 has to say:

As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool returns to his folly.

This is a graphic picture to get us to understand how offensive or disgusting foolishness is to God. Think about the professing Christian, who comes week after week hearing the Word of God, but refuses to apply it and goes back to their folly. This is offensive behavior that we need to avoid. We need to have a heart that desires to not only hear God's Word, but apply it as well. We need to make sure we are not enabling fools to be fools. We need to encourage our friends and family members to embrace godly wisdom. Also, think about the responsibility of parents. We need to train our children to love and embrace godly wisdom. They need to hear us teach godly wisdom and see us apply godly wisdom.