Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than to deal with a fool in his folly. Proverbs 17:12, TLV
Biblical Fools? Are They Dangerous? A fool is as dangerous as a mother bear robbed of her cubs? Really? I’ve read stories of mama bears attacking while mortally wounded, to protect their babies. How is someone defined in our world as “unwise” more dangerous than mama bear?
Our world may depict the fool as innocuous, but the Bible doesn’t. They can be dangerous. Still, are they deadly?
After many years of studying Proverbs, I’ve learned that the Bible’s definition of a fool is very different than our dictionaries.
Proverbs contain over 20 descriptions of fools. Included in those portrayals are souls who are calculating and deceitful. These individuals can disarm us with worldly “intelligence” and inject negativity into our life. Even discouragement and confusion.
If these are intelligent people, why are they considered fools? 
Let’s ask King David, King Solomon’s abba:
“. . . The fool said in his heart: ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt; their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.” Psalm 14:1, TLV
Based on the Biblical explanation, I’ve run into more fools than I realized. Before I recognized them as fools, they had wreaked havoc in my life — how about you?
What do fools “look” like? Here’s how Proverbs describe them. They:
- despise GOD’s wisdom and instruction. (1:7)
- hate knowledge from GOD. (1:22)
- hide their hatred behind lies and have no trouble slandering a good person. (10:18)
- love playing with mischief. (10:23)
- think the harm they do is okay — no big deal. (12:15)
- get angry and act out. (12:16)
- destroy their families with their behavior. (14:1)
- allow pride to drive their cruelty toward others. (14:3)
- love deceit. (14:8)
- mock sin. (14:9)
- are so confident in their intelligence, they believe they can do anything they want. (14:16)
- despise their parents or think them irrelevant. (15:5, 20)
- believe they are above correction. (17:10; 26:11)
- love their own voice and talk a lot. (1:7; 29:11)
- spend money more than they should. (21:20)
If there are folks in our life that exhibit even a few of these characteristics, we need to be careful. They are a danger to our heart, mind, and perhaps our bodies. If we recognize a few characteristics of a fool in our own life, then it is time to get to work.
Is there hope for a fool? Before our redemption, we were all fools. Like us, if a fool says, “Yes! GOD is real!” then they will open their lives to His salvation and sanctification and an opportunity for wisdom. To leave their foolishness behind.
We can and should avoid yoking ourselves with fools, but don’t ignore them (unless the LORD shows us otherwise). And don’t give up praying for them and speaking truth. Aren’t we glad someone did that for us?
Think More About It
Do we know souls that display foolish behavior as defined by Scriptures? Are there foolish behaviors we need to work on? What are steps we can take to work on these things?
