A fool may be loads of fun in a king’s court or at the circus, but it’s nothing for a Christian to aspire to. The book of Proverbs has a lot to say about the fool…

1. The fool hates wisdom
   The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction (Proverbs 1:7).
   The mind of the intelligent seeks knowledge, but the mouth of fools feeds on folly (Proverbs 15:14).
   Why is there a price in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom, when he has no sense? (Proverbs 17:16)
   A fool does not delight in understanding, but only in revealing his own mind (Proverbs 18:2)
2. The fool lacks self-control
   A woman of folly is boisterous, she is naive and knows nothing (Proverbs 9:13).
   There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man swallows it up (Proverbs 21:20).
3. The fool will not listen to correction
   The wise of heart will receive commands, but a babbling fool will be ruined (Proverbs 10:8).
   A fool rejects his father’s discipline, but he who regards reproof is sensible (Proverbs 15:5).
4. The fool has quite a temper
   A fool’s anger is known at once, but a prudent man conceals dishonor (Proverbs 12:16).
   A quick-tempered man acts foolishly, and a man of evil devices is hated (Proverbs 14:17).
   He who is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who is quick-tempered exalts folly (Proverbs 14:29)
   Keeping away from strife is an honor for a man, but any fool will quarrel (Proverbs 20:3).
   A fool always loses his temper, but a wise man holds it back (Proverbs 29:11).
5. The fool loves what is evil
   Desire realized is sweet to the soul, but it is an abomination to fools to turn away from evil (Proverbs 13:19).
   Fools mock at sin, but among the upright there is good will (Proverbs 14:9)
   Doing wickedness is like sport to a fool, and so is wisdom to a man of understanding (Proverbs 10:23).
6. The fool is a babbler
   The wise of heart will receive commands, but a babbling fool will be ruined (Proverbs 10:8)
   He who winks the eye causes trouble, and a babbling fool will be ruined (Proverbs 10:10).
   He who gives an answer before he hears, it is folly and shame to him (Proverbs 18:13)
7. The fool tears down their own
   He who troubles his own house will inherit wind, and the foolish will be servant to the wisehearted (Proverbs 11:29).
   The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands (Proverbs 14:1)
8. The fool is a liar and a slanderer
   He who conceals hatred has lying lips, and he who spreads slander is a fool (Proverbs 10:18).
   The wisdom of the sensible is to understand his way, but the foolishness of fools is deceit (Proverbs 14:8).
9. The fool deserves no honor
   Like snow in summer and like rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool (Proverbs 26:1)
   Like one who binds a stone in a sling, so is he who gives honor to a fool (Proverbs 26:8)
10. The fool’s tongue…
    The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable, but the mouth of fools spouts folly (Proverbs 15:2)
    A fool’s lip bring strife, and his mouth calls for blows. A fool’s mouth is his ruin, and his lips are the snare of his soul (Proverbs 18:6, 7)
11. The fool is a shame to their parents
    A wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish man despises his mother (Proverbs 15:20)
    A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him (Proverbs 17:25)
    A foolish son is destruction to his father, and the contentions of a wife are a constant dripping (Proverbs 19:13).
12. There is little hope and much punishment for the fool (since he will not receive correction)
    A rebuke goes deeper into one who has understanding than a hundred blows into a fool (Proverbs 17:10).
    Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than he who is perverse in speech and is a fool (Proverbs 19:1).
    Judgments are prepared for scoffers and blows for the back of fools (Proverbs 19:29).
    A whip is for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools (Proverbs 26:4).
    Like a dog that returns to its vomit is a fool who repeats his folly (Proverbs 26:12).
    Though you pound a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, yet his foolishness will not depart from him (Proverbs 27:22).
13. The fool is arrogant
    The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel (Proverbs 12:15).
    A wise man is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is arrogant and careless (Proverbs 14:16).
    He who trusts in his own heart is a fool but he who walks wisely will be delivered (Proverbs 28:26).

And what do we do with the fool? Stay away! Until he/she wants to change, you cannot counsel, cajole or otherwise separate them from their folly.
He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm (Proverbs 13:20).
Leave the presence of a fool or you will not discern words of knowledge (Proverbs 14:7).
Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs rather than a fool in his folly (Proverbs 17:12).
When a wise man has a controversy with a foolish man, the foolish man either rages or laughs, and there is no rest (Proverbs 29:9).

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Erynn Sprouse

Erynn is the author of Perfected (A Study of Hebrews). She and her husband, Jeremy serve with the Patrick Street church of Christ in Dublin, TX . Her husband is the pulpit minister and evangelist. Erynn is a stay at home, homeschooling mom to their six children: five young knights-in-training and one sweet princess. They are 2003 graduates of the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver. Erynn is the creator and a regular contributor form Come Fill Your Cup.

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