CONTENDETH WITH A FOOLISH MAN - Proverbs 29:9
Proverbs 29:9 If a wise man contendeth with a foolish man, whether he rage or laugh, there is no rest.
Are you a wise man? A wise man is not very wise if he wastes his time arguing with a fool. It is easy to discover who a fool is since one of the definitions of a fool is one who refuses to be corrected and instead insists on maintaining his false beliefs.
When a wise man contends with a fool, the wise man is the one who is dropping himself to the level of the fool. A fool will argue for the sake of argument. A fool will never change no matter what the wise man says. Thus for a wise man to argue with a fool is like a farmer to jump into a mud puddle and try to clean the pig in the midst of the mud puddle. The farmer cannot properly clean the pig until the pig first voluntarily leaves the mud puddle. Once the pig is out of the mud, then the farmer can attempt to clean it. However, unless the farmer removes the mud puddle, as soon as the farmer cleans the pig, the pig will be right back in the mud.
If you are a wise man, you will only be frustrated when dealing with a fool. A fool has made up their own mind as to what the rules are for their life and it does not matter how much you try to enlighten them as to the ways of God, they have reached their own conclusions and all your words are meaningless in the ears of the foolish man.
Be careful that the foolish man does not drag you down to their level. If you start arguing with a foolish man, you will be the one without rest. If you start arguing with a foolish man, you are not demonstrating the wisdom that you have obtained from God. If you truly have obtained wisdom from God, you understand that there is a time to confront the fool, and there is a time to simply hold your peace.
If you desire peace in your life, then be wise and do not allow yourself to be dragged into arguments with fools. The fool does not care if there is peace or not; in fact, the fool loves controversy and tension. You cannot enter a greased pig contest and expect to come out clean.
When the brothers of Joseph desired to kill him, Reuben stepped forth and gave a speech about how it should not be their hands that killed him. Reuben understood that he could not argue with his brothers about killing Joseph, but if he could show them a different way to kill their brother, then it would buy him time by which he could save Joseph. It was Reuben who suggested that they throw Joseph into a pit so that later on, he could save Joseph and return him to Jacob.
Reuben showed wisdom in not arguing with a bunch of fools who desired to kill Joseph. Reuben simply showed the wisdom that he had by devising a plot by which he spared the life of Joseph. God had other plans and God allowed Joseph to be sold as a slave before Reuben could rescue Joseph. Nonetheless, we see an important lesson in how to deal with fools in a difficult situation. Reuben was a wise man by not arguing with his brothers but instead he simply presented an alternative plan.
The more time you spend adding knowledge of the ways of God, the more you will understand human nature. When you understand how a fool thinks, you will be able to use their foolishness to cause them to do the right thing by presenting the information in the right manner. You must show your wisdom in order to guide a fool. If you stoop to their level, you will not win, instead you must bring them up to your level but you must use wisdom in guiding them.