July 2

Proverbs 25:1-29:27

You may often hear people say the Bible has contradictions. When you ask what they are, often the person does not know any but is just parroting something they have heard. In today's reading, we encounter a potential contradiction they could mention. Proverbs 26:4-5 says, "Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him. Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes." Is this a contradiction? We are told to not answer a fool and then told to answer him, which is it? When we look closer at these verses we will find no contradiction. Proverbs are in the genre of wisdom literature so the writer is telling us that sometimes we should answer a fool according to his folly and other times we should not. We need wisdom to know which situation we are in.

Many of us like black and white principles. We want to know exactly what to do and when to do it, we like laws and do not like ambiguity. Yet God gave us his Spirit to help us determine how to live in unclear situations and did not give us a law for every moment. We are to live by faith and not by rules. The Spirit wants us to know when to engage and when to let go. When to speak the truth and when to be silent. So when we find ourselves in testy conversations, let us have wisdom to know what to do.

Father God, lead me today. Help me to respond to situations and to people in ways that bring you glory today. Amen. 

What might help you determine whether you are in a speak up or be quiet situation?

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