Saying Ten

Proverbs 23:9

Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.

Don’t lose sleep over a fool’s foolishness.

When intelligent men who are full of knowledge find themselves in conversation with a fool, it is common for the discussion to devolve into a hot air production contest. The knowledgeable man spouts his truths, and the fool vomits up his — but the fact that the first man’s words are objectively true has little effect on the foolishness of both parties’ participation.

The temptation, of course, is to think that you can achieve what dozens of men before you failed to do: get through to this bozo. Now that he’s finally in the right hands he’ll really be taken care of. He won’t get away with bad arguments anymore, because you’ll back him into a corner. You’ll be able to demonstrate beyond any doubt that he is wrong, and he’ll simply have to back down and apologise.

The problem with such thinking is that it is far too generous to the fool. You see, the very thing that makes fools foolish is the permission they grant themselves to reject the moral obligation of admitting wrong, no matter how much it is proven. To be an effective fool, you must only use sound reasoning to bait your opponent into a rational discussion; once you’ve reeled him in, you can then produce a delicious frustration within his heart by freely discarding whichever logical premises seem to be guarding your escape. Did you begin the conversation by complaining about a double standard? Then why not indulge one yourself? Remember, you’re allowed to do it, because you are you — unique old you.

Your affectionate uncle, Screwtape.

Now imagine Jake, a twelvie who received his first gaming console two months ago. (You’ll have to imagine him, because you won’t see him around outside much). His mother, at first touched by how much her son was enjoying his birthday present, is now beginning to worry about what seems to be an obsession. Jake was always so sensible when it came to other games, and even sports — enjoying them for a time, but never allowing them to take over his life. He was essentially a ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ kid.

But at the moment, as she stands in the office doorway, holding in her hands a letter from his school principal, and gazing at the back of his swiftly developing tech neck, she is not so sure anymore. Jake, it seems, has not done his homework for approximately two months. For that same period, he has been irredeemably tired, with no ability to concentrate in class. His teachers are worried that something may be going on at home, and want to know if there is anything they can do to help.

As concerned as she is, Jake’s mother still has an unwavering faith in her son’s inherent common sense, and she approaches the following difficult conversation with this baseline assumption.

“Jake, dear, I hear your schoolwork isn’t too crash-hot lately. What’s up with that?”

Jake, who loves his mother dearly at meal times, rolls his eyes and sighs.

“Jake? What’s up? Not feeling well?”

“Not now, Mum. I’m just…” He physically swerves as some dramatically coloured pixels seem to rush towards him. The furious clicking of buttons is the only conclusion to his sentence.

“When will you be done then?” His mother asks, reasonably.

Jake loses his game, and then falls prey to one of those tantrums of which three-year-olds ought to be ashamed.

“What’s wrong, dear?” She really is concerned now.

“Why did you have to come in right then?!”

“Well, I didn’t know…”

“Come on, let’s just get this over with. What is it?”

“I think someone’s got an attitude.”

Another sigh.

“Well, Jake, I received a letter from your principal, and it looks pretty serious. We need to talk about your school work. It just seems like you don’t care anymore.”

“My school work is fine, Mum. I care about it a lot. It’s just the teachers that are bad.”

“It says here that you sleep all through class.”

“Yeah. Because the teachers are so boring. And I don’t even sleep in class. They’re just making stuff up.”

His mother gives him a dubious side-eye glance. “Well, anyway, you need to do your homework, no matter how bad the teachers are.”

“Why??”

“So you can grow up, get a job, and earn your living. That’s why.”

“But I’m not going to use geometry in my job. I’m not going to write essays. I’m not going to do any of this stuff. It’s just stupid.”

After a slight pause, Jake’s mother feels composed enough to appeal to her son’s ‘sensible side’ — that mysterious aspect of his angelic nature that we bystanders are yet to observe.

“First of all, you might well use ‘that stuff’ in your job. It all depends what you do. And second of all, even if you don’t, you need to develop the skills of working hard and thinking through tough problems. Geometry and essay-writing help with that. In geometry, you learn to think mathematically and logically, and those skills are invaluable in so many fields. In English, you learn to organise your ideas so that you can be an effective communicator. There isn’t any job where that isn’t valued.”

For the next few minutes, she continues in this vein, waxing eloquent on the merits of chemistry, humanities, and even drama. She finishes her spiel, satisfied that she has gotten her point across. He must be able to see it now. It was crystal clear to her, anyway. How anyone could deny the truth of what she said was beyond her. And besides, her son — her very own Jake — was always such a sensible kid.

She glances at him again, noticing with satisfaction his chin cupped thoughtfully in his hands, his respectful silence, and his eyes closed in pensive reflection. Another two minutes go by, however, and she feels as though it might be just about time to prompt him out of his reverie and into some action.

“So, shall I get your books? I can help you if you want.”

Jake looks up. “Huh? What? Are we done here? Ben is waiting online for another game, Mum.”

One hopes, for Jake’s sake, that when his father got home, he implemented the proverbial rod of correction, took some wire cutters to the console cables, and set his son a daily regimen of fifty pushups and a 7pm bedtime. These are the only ‘arguments’ that a fool understands.

Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of correction will drive it far from him. (Proverbs 22:15)

Yet, it is important to recognise that it is only appropriate for you to execute such physical corrective measures if you occupy a position of direct authority over the fool — if you are a parent, for example. In most cases, you must simply be content to save your breath in the hearing of the fool, and pray that God would chasten him as a son, and bring him to his knees in acknowledgement of his own fault.

For whom the LORD loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights. (Proverbs 3:12)

You cannot get through to a fool. It is like trying to invite a fly to exit your house through a ten-by-ten millimetre hole in your wall by simply pointing at it. Unless God grants him wisdom, he will not have it.

Unless God grants you wisdom, you will not have it.

Scriptures for Comparison

Proverbs 9:7-8

Matthew 27:12-14

Proverbs 26:4-5

Matthew 7:6

Proverbs 29:9

Psalm 37:7-9

Proverbs 14:7

2 Timothy 2:23-24

Proverbs 18:2

Proverbs 17:10