Just how do you go about foolproofing your life? Author Jan Silvious offers an excellent Biblical resource to encourage you in your relationships.
Have you ever meet a fool? Well, if you have then how did you deal with them? I am not talking about those moments in our lives when we or someone we know occasionally does something foolish. I am a big fan of giving people the benefit of the doubt. We need to let those around us have an occasional bad day, or moment, and not hold it against them, or take it personally.
However, there are still those that are the Proverbs fool and the question as Believers is, how do you deal with them? Believe it or not, I actually get that question asked frequently. So how do you make your life foolproof?
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How to Foolproof Your Life
There have been times in my own life when I had to withdraw from “friends” because it was obvious they were, for lack of a better word, toxic. It wasn’t that I didn’t like them or enjoy some aspects of the friendship. Honestly, however, most fools have drama following them wherever they go. If at the moment they don’t, then they will stir some up.
Fools are usually never satisfied and have not put away childish things. They also tend to react with emotion instead of logically thinking through circumstances; which leads to hasty decisions they usually soon come to regret.
Jan Silvious gave a great illustration one time about having a relationship with a fool. She said something like this: “Imagine you are standing on a castle tower and the drawbridge is up. The fool comes by, you are friendly, and wave, but you do not let down the bridge.” That may not make sense to you without hearing the rest of her teaching.
Soooo, I want to recommend her book, Foolproofing Your Life: How to Deal Effectively With the Impossible People in Your Life. This is a great resource for anyone needing to foolproof their life, especially those in ministry.
Foolproofing Your Life would also be a great tool to walk through with teenagers.
How To Discern a Fool with Proverbs
For more here is a list from Proverbs to help you discern a fool and foolproof your life:
Prov 1:7
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Prov 1:22
How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?
Prov 1:32
For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them.
Prov 3:35
The wise will inherit honor, but fools get disgrace.
Prov 8:5
O simple ones, learn prudence; O fools, learn sense.
Prov 10:8
The wise of heart will receive commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin.
Prov 10:10
Whoever winks the eye causes trouble, but a babbling fool will come to ruin.
Prov 10:14
The wise lay up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near.
Prov 10:18
The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever utters slander is a fool.
Prov 10:21
The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of sense.
Prov 10:23
Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool, but wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding.
Prov 11:29
Whoever troubles his own household will inherit the wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.
Prov 12:15
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.
Prov 12:16
The vexation of a fool is known at once, but the prudent ignores an insult.
Prov 12:23
A prudent man conceals knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaims folly.
Prov 13:16
In everything the prudent acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly.
Prov 13:19
A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but to turn away from evil is an abomination to fools.
Prov 13:20
Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.
Prov 14:3
By the mouth of a fool comes a rod for his back, but the lips of the wise will preserve them.
Prov 14:7
Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge.
Prov 14:8
The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deceiving.
Prov 14:9
Fools mock at the guilt offering, but the upright enjoy acceptance.
Prov 14:16
One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is reckless and careless.
Prov 14:24
The crown of the wise is their wealth, but the folly of fools brings folly.
Prov 14:33
Wisdom rests in the heart of a man of understanding, but it makes itself known even in the midst of fools.
Prov 15:2
The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly.
Prov 15:5
A fool despises his father’s instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is prudent.
Prov 15:7
The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the hearts of fools.
Prov 15:14
The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feed on folly.
Prov 16:22
Good sense is a fountain of life to him who has it, but the instruction of fools is folly.
Prov 17:7
Fine speech is not becoming to a fool; still less is false speech to a prince.
Prov 17:10
A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool.
Prov 17:12
Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs rather than a fool in his folly.
Prov 17:16
Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom when he has no sense?
Prov 17:21
He who sires a fool gets himself sorrow, and the father of a fool has no joy.
Prov 17:24
The discerning sets his face toward wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
Prov 17:28
Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.
Prov 18:2
A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.
Prov 18:6
A fool’s lips walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating.
Prov 18:7
A fool’s mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul.
Prov 19:1
Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool.
Prov 19:10
It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury, much less for a slave to rule over princes.
Prov 19:29
Condemnation is ready for scoffers, and beating for the backs of fools.
Prov 20:3
It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarrelling.
Prov 23:9
Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words.
Prov 24:7
Wisdom is too high for a fool; in the gate he does not open his mouth.
Prov 26:1
Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.
Prov 26:3
A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools.
Prov 26:4
Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself.
Prov 26:5
Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.
Prov 26:6
Whoever sends a message by the hand of a fool cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.
Prov 26:7
Like a lame man’s legs, which hang useless, is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
Prov 26:8
Like one who binds the stone in the sling is one who gives honor to a fool.
Prov 26:9
Like a thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
Prov 26:10
Like an archer who wounds everyone is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.
Prov 26:11
Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.
Prov 26:12
Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Prov 27:3
A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty, but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.
Prov 27:22
Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, yet his folly will not depart from him.
Prov 28:26
Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.
Prov 29:9
If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet.
Prov 29:11
A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.
Prov 29:20
Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
More Encouragement for the Homeschool Mom
Besides needing to foolproof your life, you might also enjoy these encouraging posts:
Kim is a minister’s wife. She has eight children and homeschooled for more than fifteen years. She would like to say she reads, travels and does all kinds of wonderful things in her spare time, but the truth is she spends her spare time doing laundry. 🙂
originally posted on July 2008.
Tricia says
What great idea to go through this with teens!
Amy Waters says
Wonderful word for us all, but especially for me. Love this book and all the proverbs and feeling happier for the first time in a long time.
Jennifer says
Thank you for this book recommendation and the additional list of verses that I just copied and pasted to print! I will be working this into my new school year with my two big kids. An excellent reminder and challenge for each of us. 🙂