This episode, focusing on Proverbs 26:4-5, admonishes believers to engage fools without being carnal. Fools are naturally defensive in regards to correction, since their identity is virtually synonymous with the lusts they pursue. Potential correction is threatening to their identity. The identity of Christians, by contrast, is Christ Himself, so believers SHOULD more easily abandon behaviors upon correction, because they are not reflective of their true holy identity. That being said, the Christian’s old fleshly nature is often provoked by fools through personal attacks and verbal abuse designed to draw us into fleshly combat. Upon encountering fools, we need to find rest and peace in our secure positional identity in Christ, acknowledging that fools are insecure by nature, depending as they are on the world and its lusts that are passing away. (1 John 2:17)
