Daily Bible Study: Proverbs 9:7-9

“He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself,
And he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself.
Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you;
Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.

Proverbs 9:7-9 (NKJV).

We want to be the savior. We want to be the guy or gal that says just the right thing, that is just good enough a friend, that is in the right place at the right time to be the hero.

We want to be recognized as having wisdom for the social credit, but those who waste their efforts in this manner can actually be exposing their lack of wisdom by these types of demonstrations.

Social media is a convenient way to see this dynamic play out. The phrase "don't feed the trolls" exists for a reason, and it's worthwhile to distinguish between those who are simply ignorant and those who are cited in this passage.

A "scoffer" is one who "mocks or treats with derision or scorn". This is not a passive ignorance, but an intentional antagonism, and with the "freedom" of the internet and folks feeling like they can share whatever they want, do whatever they want, all without consequence, has magnified the intensity of this dynamic such that it is blatantly obvious when witnessed.

This is not wisdom being provided to someone who does not know, this is an attempt to use wisdom as the retort to someone who does not even recognize the value of the conversation, the interaction, beyond how they can leverage themselves socially, or perhaps even just for entertainment purposes.

I do not believe that the social dynamics that we experience through social media, especially with anonymous accounts, is something that is new to humanity, but that it is an existing behavioral dynamic that has been refined it down to its most basic attributes because of the medium.

In addition, thanks to the many advances in our civilization as the result of human intellect, we have doubled down on intellectual reliance and upset the balance between fantasy and reality. It was fantastical to think we could travel more than 50 miles per hour at one time, let alone travel to the moon. It was fantastical to think that we could communicate instantaneously over large distances, and yet now the whole globe cannot go a day without all of the local details being broadcast to everyone else in the world who will listen.

We live in a veritable land of fantasy, and yet we got here not simply by dreaming big, but through incremental efforts to discover how our dreams could really manifest in studying the nature of reality. We dreamed big, but knew when to wake up and get to work.

Nowadays though, more and more are refusing to wake up and do the hard work to make their ideals a reality, and so they have become detached in understanding cause and effect. They espouse lofty ideals that are entirely disconnected from reality, which while apparently making one feel good for professing such an ideal, is pointless because it cannot ever be manifest.

The "moral high ground" is a concept that encapsulates this arrogant deceit. People will pretend that, because they took the "moral high ground", that even if they acted foolishly, their actions are still to be lauded based on the ideals, not on the results.

In this manner, people will engage with scoffers, ignore the behavior and the results of the interaction and simply "do their thing", and then wonder why the praise has not heaped up for them as much as it should. Didn't they do what they were supposed to? Didn't they adhere to the loftiest of ideals, the most pure and logical of paths?

In this passage though, you'll note that the result of correcting a scoffer is to invite hatred.

Doesn't that result tell us something about the logic, the rationale, behind our behavior, and why it should change?

Realize that time spent trying to correct scoffers, to share wisdom with fools, is time not spent teaching those who are already receptive and ready to learn. It's a waste and generates animosity, and little else, as the scoffer is not going to have a change of heart because of our efforts on their "behalf", for "their benefit".

If someone doesn't want help, don't give it to them anyway. If someone doesn't want to understand, don't try and explain it to them anyway. If someone doesn't want to learn, don't force them to go through the motions with your lessons anyway.

This will save your time, your soul, and increase both your social and physical safety as well.