React (foolish) vs. Respond (wisdom)

 

“When you react you are giving away your power. When you respond you are staying in control of yourself.” — Bob Proctor

Beloved, as I am up early in the am to be in God’s Word and work on my blog, Lord willing, I thank God that I have this time with Him and can equally be a blessing to you as well. God be praised for His wisdom and for continuing to work His perfect and holy ways into this man who absolutely needs it, so he may not remain silent, so he may not succumb to reacting but in all power and authority and wisdom from God, will respond to those who count themselves wise in their own eyes, and not only that, I thank God that you too, can and will experience this if you sincerely and genuinely look to the Lord your God to continue to do that good work in you and through you. Amen. With that said, I now invite you Into My HEART...

“Answer not a [self-confident] fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him. Answer a [self-confident] fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes and conceit. 

[Matt. 16:1-4; 21:24-27.]” 

(Proverbs 26:4-5 AMP)

The above I found to be confusing and no doubt because I do not know the original Hebrew in which would show the obvious differences, yet I thank God for the amplified version that produced the verses in the Gospels where the Lord Jesus confronts the foolish before the eyes of God but the wise in their own eyes. Let us now look to the above verses referenced and see what God is teaching us here. Lord, even now, I say, lead the way and make your ways plainly known to all of us. Amen.

In verse 4, “Answer not a [self-confident] fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him” we see according to (Matthew 16 & 22), that the wisdom of God here is telling us NOT to REACT to foolish people and their foolish talk. When we react our emotions are getting the best of us in which I know all too well, and that can result in arguments, fights, shouting, cursing, and such displays of godlessness leads to nowhere good. The fool remains a fool and we too, in doing so, will be foolish along with them! Lord, let it never be so. 

Now in verse 5, “Answer a [self-confident] fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes and conceit” we see according to (Matthew 16 & 22), that the wisdom of God here is telling us to RESPOND to foolish people and their foolish talk rather than reacting to them. In other words, in place of foolishness begetting foolishness, let us speak with wisdom instead of ignorance, so to, allow life to begin anew not from the seed of foolishness but from the Eternal seed of wisdom. When we respond our emotions are not the root of it, but God’s wisdom and Spirit, and we can be sure we will experience any of the following concerning the fool: Conviction, correction, silencing foolish ways and making the wisdom of God known. Halleluyah. Lord, may it always be so. 

There is something inside of us when we hear people speaking and acting foolish, that wants to react in an array of unpleasant ways. We roll our eyes. We scoff at them. We point the finger and snicker. We spread gossip and lies. We turn the other way. We avoid them (although sometimes this is wise to do if indeed they are violent fools). We want to confront them and become every bit as they are. This can not result in the present course being changed. We must become a people by God’s calling, will turn to Him to receive His Wisdom, to ask for His wisdom and throughout our course of life to continue asking for His wisdom so we can be a people with a proper response at the proper time and not an improper reaction.

Therefore, as I began, I shall end. The glory and Spirit of God’s wisdom be at home within in us and be manifested all around us when we speak, when we respond and when we interact with foolish people, yet I ask of God even now, if at any time our responses O Lord, are not pleasing to you, you knowing all things before they are, and knowing all our days before one was, keep our tongues from movement, let our mouths remain shut, let your wisdom escape us until we humble ourselves before you, so that the wisdom of God comes from a place of your perfect will and from a people who want to obey and do your will. Amen. 

Beloved, as always…YOU ARE LOVED.

— F. Lugo
4/26/15
5:12am