Proverbs 9 tells me how to respond to a scoffer fool
By Duane Garrett Speaking up for biblical principles is a dangerous thing. People may abuse you or accuse you, saying that you are a fool or even that you are evil. But Proverbs 9:7–8 gives us wise counsel in the face of such hostility: 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; reprove a wise man, and he will love you. The fool The “scoffer” in Proverbs 9:7–8 is a step beyond the “fool.” The fool in Proverbs is not a gullible, easily swindled person, as in “a fool and his money are soon parted.” Rather, “folly” describes actions or words that go against the rules that God established when he made the world. Folly can be immoral, undisciplined behavior (Ps 38:5; 69:5; Prov 5:23; 24:9), and it often shows itself in anger (Prov 14:17, 29). Fools are quick to speak, supposing themselves to be wiser than they really are (12:23; 13:16). They are a danger to those around them (17:12). In short,