The Fool in the Mirror

I concentrated with all my might, studying and exploring and seeking wisdom – the meaning of life. I also wanted to identify evil and stupidity, foolishness and craziness. (Eccl. 7:25 The Message).  

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is the standard text used by mental health professionals in helping to diagnose a wide variety of human dysfunctions. Published by the American Psychiatric Association, the DSM describes around 300 mental, behavioral, and emotional maladies that plague men and women today: panic disorders, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, social anxiety disorders, caffeine-related disorders, etc. It is noteworthy that the DSM has no diagnostic category labeled “foolishness disorder.” Although I have no particular gripe with the DSM as a useful tool for counselors, I find it odd that it fails to even mention what the Bible says is one of the primary dysfunctions of the human condition: foolishness! 1

When Jesus warned against calling someone a “fool” (Greek, moros, whence our word “moron”), he was prohibiting angry attacks that judge a person’s character (see Matt. 5:22). He was not forbidding the need for moral discernment in evaluating human behavior. In fact, distinguishing right from wrong in the actions of others is a very good thing! It is interesting to note that Jesus himself once called the Pharisees “blind fools” in order to expose their brazen hypocrisy (see Matt. 23:17).       

Today, we tend to equate foolishness with low intelligence, as if a fool were someone without an education. But in the Bible, foolishness is not an intellectual category, but a moral one. People are called fools not because they are dumb, but because they are unable (or unwilling!) to distinguish right from wrong. This helps us to understand why it takes a Harvard Ph.D. to be capable of some of the elevated levels of imbecility that we see in the world today! 

The book of Proverbs alerts us to the fact that there are varying degrees of foolishness. Some forms of this disorder are more serious than others. For example, at the low end of the spectrum, some foolishness is little more than gullibility, naivete, or ignorance, typically perpetrated by those who are young and inexperienced. The Bible sometimes uses the label “simple” to describe these kinds of people. They may do stupid things, but they are not yet hardened sinners. If you have ever raised a teenager, you will easily recognize what I am talking about. A teen’s behavioral disorders are often caused more by ignorance and credulity than by willful rebellion. 

A more serious form of foolishness is found in those with a deep-seated and permanent predisposition to make poor choices, and then passionately defend their decisions! These are people who “hate knowledge” and “despise reproof” (Prov. 1:22; 5:12). This level of foolishness is both toxic and almost impossible to cure. 

In order to help us recognize a fool and diagnose foolishness, God did not give us the latest issue of the DSM. Rather, he gave us the book of Proverbs. Here, we discover four basic characteristics of a fool. 

A fool thinks he is always right. 

Our culture teaches us to trust in ourselves and do whatever our hearts tell us to do. “Be true to yourself,” we are told. And yet Proverbs says that such counsel is the very definition of folly. “Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool” (Prov. 28:26). Fools are those who develop a faulty narrative of reality and then write that narrative in stone. No amount of evidence or rational argument can dislodge them from their version of the truth. “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes” (Prov. 12:15). In order to find God and the true meaning of life, Proverbs tells us to “trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding” (Prov. 3:5-6, emphasis added). 

A fool is unteachable. 

Proverbs warns those who imagine they can educate a fool concerning his folly: Be careful, you might get hurt! “Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse, and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury. Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you” (Prov. 9:7-8). Fools are not interested in the truth. Their only mission in life is to get their own way. This is why the discipline of young children is so important. It teaches them to be teachable! “A youngster’s heart is filled with foolishness, but discipline will drive it away” (Prov. 22:15 NLT). 

A fool can’t control his anger. 

Fools have short fuses. Road rage is one common example. A fool is “hot-headed and reckless” and “quick to quarrel” (Prov. 14:16; 20:3). “Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool in his folly” (Prov. 17:12). Some fools express their rage through noisy outbursts. Others become silent and passive-aggressive. But whether by shouting or pouting, fools create strife and conflict wherever they go.

A fool loves to hear himself talk. 

A final characteristic of fools is their incessant chatter. They love the sound of their own voice and actually think that others love it too. Proverbs calls them “babbling fools” (Prov. 10:8).  Perhaps this is why so many of them become lawyers, politicians, schoolteachers, and preachers! A fool’s greatest delight is to “air his own opinion” (Prov. 18:2). “The mouth of the fool gushes folly” (Prov. 15:2).   

Conclusion 

I’m tempted to conclude this blog by asking each of us to think of a fool that we know personally and then pausing to pray for them. However, the Holy Spirit won’t let me do that! That would let everyone of us off the hook. Instead, I want to ask each of us to humbly look in the mirror and apply these four characteristics to ourselves. The first step toward wisdom is to recognize what pompous little fools we are! 

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1 The Biblical vocabulary that describes human dysfunctionality covers a wide range of mental states, emotional disturbances, and behavioral conduct. Of course, the word “sin” is of primary importance. But the Bible reveals it depth of insight into human psychology by using other terms and categories to define the human condition. See, for example, its terminology relating to “lostness”, “missing the mark”, “perversion”, “bondage”, “oppression”, “uncleanness”, “spiritual blindness”, “unnatural affections,” etc. This blog post focuses on only one of those categories: “foolishness”. 

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