Defining Fools

I have posted this subject under the category of “Leadership Topics” because those serving in leadership positions must be able to both identify and expel those who are fools. The bible contains many scriptures that define what a fool is. It is important to identify those who are fools because a fool will bring all kinds of strife and discord and chaos wherever they are found. There is no dealing with a fool because such people cannot be corrected and are unteachable. Expelling them is the only option because those who are wise must separate themselves from all those who have identified themselves as fools by their own bad actions and bad behavior and bad characteristics.

A Fool Falsely Assumes God Does Not Exist-Therefore they are Corrupt

A fool can be identified by their “godless” attitude which displays that they have no fear of God and as such they have a brazen attitude toward committing all kinds of offense.

Psalm 53:1 (HCSB)
1 The fool says in his heart, “God does not exist.” They are corrupt, and they do vile deeds. There is no one who does good.

One attribute of a fool is that they behave as if there is no God. When people falsely imagine that there is no God then they will become corrupt in behavior and their deeds will become vile because they have no fear of God. No one who is a fool (who assumes there is no God) will do anything good because they behave as if they are a god unto themselves. They falsely assume that they will never have to answer for their contemptable words and their depraved actions on judgment day.

Examples of Godless Fools Behaving in Wicked Manner

1 Samuel 2:12 (HCSB)
12 Eli’s sons were wicked men; they had no regard for the LORD.

It is clear from this scripture that the sons of Eli were fools who said in their hearts that “God does not exist” because they were entirely corrupt and engaged in vile behavior and their actions testify that they had no fear of God whatsoever. It is also shocking that such wicked men were serving in the role of being priests only because their father Eli was a priest. Their wicked behavior was “more offensive” because they were supposed to represent God as priests but they were instead having in vile manner.

1 Samuel 2:13–17 (HCSB)
13 or for the priests’ share of the sacrifices from the people. When any man offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged meat fork while the meat was boiling
14 and plunge it into the container or kettle or cauldron or cooking pot. The priest would claim for himself whatever the meat fork brought up. This is the way they treated all the Israelites who came there to Shiloh.
15 Even before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest some meat to roast, because he won’t accept boiled meat from you—only raw.”
16 If that man said to him, “The fat must be burned first; then you can take whatever you want for yourself,” the servant would reply, “No, I insist that you hand it over right now. If you don’t, I’ll take it by force!”
17 So the servants’ sin was very severe in the presence of the LORD, because they treated the LORD’s offering with contempt.

The people who came to worship God were being exploited by these selfish and greedy men who would order their servants to seize from the people whatever they demanded and take it by force (rather than allowing people to give to God freely). This sin was very severe in the sight of God because these fools were treating the Lord’s offering with contempt.

1 Samuel 2:22–25 (HCSB)
22 Now Eli was very old. He heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they were sleeping with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
23 He said to them, “Why are you doing these things? I have heard about your evil actions from all these people.
24 No, my sons, the report I hear from the LORD’s people is not good.
25 If a man sins against another man, God can intercede for him, but if a man sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to their father, since the LORD intended to kill them.

Again, it should be noted that a fool says in his heart that “there is no God” and because of this they have no fear of God and behave in vile manner. The sons of Eli were using their position as priests to exploit the people and cause the worship of God to be held in contempt. Not only this but these wicked men were also engaging in sexual immorality with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

A Fool is a Product of Passive Parenting

The fool is a product of passive parenting and the passive attitude of their father Eli was such that he said he was not hearing good things about them. Eli should have had these wicked men expelled from the tabernacle and executed for their crimes. But this is the attitude of a passive parent who just says they should not do “such and such” but never disciplined their children when they were growing up. See the link “Child Discipline” for more details.

If a child is left undisciplined in their youth then they will grow up to be worthless men who behave in a selfish and spoiled manner that will seize the things of others for themselves in rude manner and even commit sexual immorality without any fear of God whatsoever. Such men are a “god” unto themselves and do not listen to any correction or rebuke. This brings us to the next point that a fool is a person who does not receive correction or rebuke from anyone because they are entirely unteachable.

A Fool Refuses Correction, Rebuke and Instruction

Proverbs 26:12 (HCSB)
12 Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

Another attribute of a fool is that they are wise in their own eyes. This means that they will not receive any correction from anyone because they assume they know more than everyone else. This is why there is no way to correct a fool because they will not listen to anyone and assume themselves to be all wise and falsely assume they have no need for anyone to teach them anything.

The sons of Eli were like this because they were spoiled undisciplined brats and grew up to be adults and still retained this bad attitude. They would not receive instruction from anyone (including their own father). It is for this reason that God put them to death as a judgment against their vile behavior and their refusal to repent.

An Entire Nation of Fools

Jeremiah 7:28 (NASB95)
28 “You shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the LORD their God or accept correction; truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth.

In the time of Jeremiah, the prophet, the nation of Israel had regressed far away from God’s commandments and became entirely corrupt. Nearly the entire population of Israelites had become degenerate and did not obey the voice of their God and refused to accept God’s correction. A major attribute of a fool is that they refuse to obey God and do not accept any correction from anyone. Such people are bold and arrogant and became a “god” unto themselves because no one can correct them (not even God)! The end of such fools is complete and total destruction followed by eternal punishment.

A Fool Trusts in Himself

Proverbs 28:26 (HCSB)
26 The one who trusts in himself is a fool, but one who walks in wisdom will be safe.

The scripture says that a fool is someone who trusts in themselves. This again comes back to the arrogant attitude that the fool assumes he is a “god” unto himself and no one on earth is qualified to correct or rebuke them (not even God). This means they are completely unteachable and refuse correction from anyone and view themselves as higher than everyone else.

How can a fool be corrected when he refuses all correction from everyone (including God)? It is for this reason nothing can be done to change a fool. The only thing a person can do is identify someone who is a fool and then separate themselves from them.

Assembly of Fools

We have seen that entire nations of people can become fools when the whole population lives in wanton abandon and they reject all moral laws and become entirely corrupt in every way imaginable. It should not be surprising that entire groups of people can become an assembly of fools. This can be true of entire family clans if no one within that family group stands up to rebuke what is wrong. If they are passive in the face of evil then the entire family clan can become a batch of fools.

I know of a family that became fools because they allowed a woman to rule everything that was going on and this woman was a fool. This woman had idols in her heart that caused her to pursue human sympathy and pity and attention all of her life. Her entire family was forced to serve this idol at every family gathering that they had. Even adult children were involved in this because they wanted to flatter their parents for inheritance money and therefore complied with this disorder that was introduced within this household by their mother. See the link “Idols of the Heart” for more details.

Normally a person should honor their parents but if one or both of them is a fool then it is a necessity that they separate themselves from them. In the case of this woman (who was serving an idol all of her life) she was rebuked for this many times. She would cry false “crocodile tears” of fake repentance but as soon as the back was turned on her then she would be right back at the playing same game and pulling her typical tricks again. This person is a fool because she could not be corrected and did all kinds of “nonsense” and manipulation of others trying to protect his idol within her heart. In fact, she even prepared for her own funeral decades in advance and instructed her daughter what she wanted to be read to the people at her own funeral. She did this only so that she could cultivate more human sympathy and pity and attention from those who happened to attend her funeral. This person went to hell with that idol because she refused all correction during her entire adult life and refused to repent of this idol and forsake it.

Proverbs 27:22 (NASB95)
22 Though you pound a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, Yet his foolishness will not depart from him.

A fool can be hammered with rebukes and discipline but even if they could be ground into powder (like crushed grain pounded into flour) yet a fool will still retain their foolishness. A fool cannot be corrected because they are not teachable and will not receive correction from anyone. There is nothing left to do except to separate oneself from a fool because it is a hopeless cause to try and correct them. Fools will never change for this reason.

Proverbs 17:10 (ESV)
10 A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool.

Rebuke is like blows that cleanse someone from the evil of their own ways. But a rebuke is only received by a person of understanding. It is entirely a waste of time to rebuke a fool who has no ears for correction. It is like pounding him with a hundred blows yet there is still no change within him because they are a fool. It therefore is not possible to correct a fool and the only option remaining is to separate from those who have identified themselves as fools by their own behavior.

Again, a fool is distinguished by his great ignorance coupled with his own great arrogance because no one can teach a fool (who considers himself to be wiser than everyone else)!

A Fool is Always Talking but Never Listening to Anyone

Proverbs 18:2 (NLT)
2 Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions.

People who have an interest in understanding can be taught something but a fool is not like this because they have no interest in understanding anything. The fool is distinguished by constantly airing their own opinions. They only talk and talk nonstop but never listen or learn from anyone else. It is a case of pride as they assume they know more than anyone else and no one else can teach them a thing.

Proverbs 23:9 (HCSB)
9 Don’t speak to a fool, for he will despise the insight of your words.

Separation must be made away from all fools because even if a wise man should speak in their presence, then the fool will despise the insights of the wise man’s words. This means that the fool is entirely unteachable and will never receive correction from anyone. This is a key attribute that identifies someone who is a fool.

A Fool Engages in Offensive Jesting Then Cover is Up by Saying He was Only Joking

Proverbs 26:18–19 (NASB95)
18 Like a madman who throws Firebrands, arrows and death,
19 So is the man who deceives his neighbor, And says, “Was I not joking?”

The fool will spout off their mouth continually in arrogant manner and falsely accuse and manipulate and cause strife within a group of people around them. When they are openly confronted for their deception then they will respond, “I was just joking!” Again, this is the nature of a fool who cannot be corrected. If you confront them with the evidence of a audio recording of their own words or a written email or bring witnesses to prove they are liars, then they will simply brush it off and say they were only joking. It is not possible to correct a fool for this reason because no matter how many times you rebuke them or confront them or point out their deception they will always say, “I was only joking!” and they will continue with their gossip and lies and slander and sowing strife among others as usual.

Even if a fool is rebuked a hundred times in a row (and confronted with irrefutable evidence of their deception and lies) they will still continue as before they were rebuked. This is because no matter how many times a fool is rebuked, they will never change. A fool cannot receive correct or rebuke so they should be abandoned to their own devices.

Fools Wound Everyone with The Constant Spewing of Words of Strife

Proverbs 26:10 (NASB95)
10 Like an archer who wounds everyone, So is he who hires a fool or who hires those who pass by.

If a man hires a fool to join his company or allows a fool to join his group then the fool will be like an archer who shoots at everyone with arrows and wounds everyone within bowshot! This scripture teaches that no leader of any type of group of people should ever allow a fool to join their group. A fool will wound everyone within earshot with his constant words of strife and false accusation as he will take all the credit if something goes right and distributes all of the blame to others whenever something goes wrong. Such a fool cannot be corrected so if he is not removed immediately, he will destroy the entire group and drive off all of the good people by the offense he causes. A businessman would be stupid to just hire any man passing by without knowing first “who that person is” and the same is also true if a man hires a fool without testing to see what kind of person this is. His entire company or group he is leading can be destroyed if one fool is allowed to enter among them.

Proverbs 27:3 (NASB95)
3 A stone is heavy and the sand weighty, But the provocation of a fool is heavier than both of them.

The provocation of a fool is heavier than stones or sand, meaning that the constant spewing of contentious words from the mouth of a fool weighs people down more that if heavy stones or heavy sand was placed upon them. People within any group are weighted down with grief when a fool is in their midst spouting off words of division and strife and accusation.

Fools Return to Their Vile Folly like a Dog Returns to Vomit

Proverbs 26:11 (NASB95)
11 Like a dog that returns to its vomit Is a fool who repeats his folly.

Again, the same theme is repeated over and over in the scripture that a fool cannot be corrected. Even if a fool is hammered with a hundred rebukes for his perverse ways, the fool will continue to pursue his evil and divisive folly (just like a dog returns to its own vomit). The fool will return to their evil ways repeatedly regardless of how many times they are confronted and rebuked for their evil.

Fools Have their Self-Importance Offended

Proverbs 29:11 (NASB95)
11 A fool always loses his temper, But a wise man holds it back.

The bottom line of why a fool loses his temper is that he is “self-important” in his own sight and therefore gets angry when people around him do not treat him with the respect that he imagines himself being worthy of. But such a person is not worthy of respect whatsoever and every word and action of a fool will confirm to everyone that they are unworthy of any type of respect whatsoever. Yet a fool will be angry when not treated with respect after he entirely abolished all respect by his own contemptable words and evil actions.

Proverbs 26:5 (NASB95)
5 Answer a fool as his folly deserves, That he not be wise in his own eyes.

The only way to answer a fool is to tell them to shut-up. Even speaking to them in respectful manner will backfire and cause the fool to become puffed up with pride and cause them to be arrogant in their own minds.

Fools Cannot Take a Compliment

Proverbs 26:8 (NASB95)
8 Like one who binds a stone in a sling, So is he who gives honor to a fool.

Complimenting a fool is like tying a stone within the pouch of a forked-branch sling shot. If you fire a stone that is tied into the pouch then the stone will go forward only to snap back and strike the shooter in the face. The same happens if someone honors and fool or gives a compliment to them. The fool will become puffed up and arrogant and treat the one who complimented them as if they are lower than dirt! This is one more factor to test if someone is a fool because a fool cannot handle compliments but will become arrogant, as if they were a “royal king” who is condescending and looks down upon the “complementor” as if they were a lowly peasant (far beneath their own exalted position).

A Fool Speaks Without Thinking

Proverbs 29:20 (NASB95)
20 Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

A fool is hasty in his words and always speaks without thinking. This is natural for them because they have no ears to hear anyone else but only speak their thoughts derived from their own heads. They can jabber all of the time non-stop without ever saying anything of value whatsoever.

A Fool is Known by His Many Words

Ecclesiastes 5:3 (NASB95)
3 For the dream comes through much effort and the voice of a fool through many words.

The fool is always talking without thinking first and spewing out all kinds of words that cause offense to those within earshot of his babbling rhetoric. This is yet another factor that distinguishes a fool who proves himself a fool by his nonstop chatter.

A Fool Will Identify Himself as Such

Ecclesiastes 10:3 (NASB95)
3 Even when the fool walks along the road, his sense is lacking and he demonstrates to everyone that he is a fool.

Everything about the fool identifies himself as such and everyone can see a fool because he is betrayed by his words and actions. It is important for people to discern when they are in the presence of a fool and separate themselves from the fools immediately. Separation should occur by removing the fool from the group as soon as possible or else they will cause nothing but trouble and strife and division in wherever group they are found.