“Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him.”
This may be one of the simplest yet hardest lessons to learn. Remember there was no social media or college football in Solomon’s day. What could fools possibly be taunting someone about? Plenty. At my age I remember long (depending what your definition of ‘long’ is) before social media. We train for this if we have siblings. Being drug into meaningless arguments is a pretty standard part of childhood even if we don’t have siblings. Neighborhood friends and elementary school classmates help us prepare. Yesterday two of my youngest grandkids had one of these training conversations on whether the one should have eaten the last fruit roll up. They were told they should have considered the other might go looking for one later to find it gone. It was escalating quickly and both had very illogical logic flying back and forth. It is ingrained in our broken spirits to feel deeply when we think we have been wronged or come up short. Jesus confronts this as did Solomon by telling us to be willing to be wronged. It is what Em Griffin was talking about when he wrote Christians are to be the world’s shock absorbers. Turning the other cheek defuses these moments. Usually it is not the healthiest or strongest follower of Christ seeking to drag us into this battle. Solomon calls them a fool. Today stay above the fray. and reflect God’s heart. #BeTheEdge
“The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?” 1 Corinthians 6:7 NIV
