Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs rather than a fool in his folly.
Proverbs 17:12
I know a few things about bears. When they're hungry, bears can very quickly destroy cars and property. Everyone should know you do not mess with a momma bear and her cubs. You do not stand a chance to survive an encounter with an angry momma looking for her cubs.
Nevertheless, the wise King Salomon tells us in Proverbs 17 that it is better to encounter a distressed bear than a fool bent on his folly or lack of good sense. Even though both encounters are dangerous, you can easily spot a distressed bear most of the time. The danger of messing with fools is that sometimes, their foolishness is not apparent.
Some fools can be charming; many people are drawn to them at first sight. Many women marry fools out of desperation. Many businesspeople lose money because they lack discernment when choosing a business associate, and many people follow fools because others have left them down or have not appreciated them.
Worse, people often do not realize they are involved with fools until they are dragged into the consequences of their lack of sense. Sometimes, getting out of a relationship with foolish people is extremely hard or impossible without experiencing tremendous losses.
Therefore, my gift to you this week is a list of suggestions to not only recognize foolishness in people but also to stay away from such individuals:
Read the Bible. I know this is obvious, but I am always surprised to find out how many Christians do not read God's word. Your knowledge of the Bible acts as a fool's repellent.
Do not be impressed by people's eloquence. Look at the fruits of their lives.
Do not base people's wisdom on their education. I am always pro-education, but intelligent, educated people can act foolishly if broken.
Do not enter into agreements with anyone you do not respect. You will not always agree with the person you respect, but it will be easy to agree to disagree with someone you respect.
Run to the hills if someone is unwilling to listen to someone else's opinion because they are always right. You have a better chance of winning an argument with that angry bear looking for her cubs than a stubborn fool. Do not waste your time.
Trust it if you get a check in your spirit about a person.
If you married a fool, pray for them and ask others to pray for you to gain patience. Prayer and patience can change anything and everyone.
My challenge for you this week is to examine your associations. Remember, you have a better chance of surviving a desperate bear than a stubborn fool.
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