Are you risking combat with a fool? Are you thinking of getting involved in a quarrel that is not your own without being asked? Perhaps, it’s time to consider how to avoid the person with whom you are experiencing tension. Proverbs provides two scenarios when we should avoid our counterpart in conflict.

First, we should always avoid combat with a fool because we cannot win.

“Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes” (Proverbs 26:4-5).

If we answer according to his tangled web of folly, then we will become like him. If we engage with a fool and let his words go idly by, then he will be wise in his own eyes. Proverbs says: “It is to a man’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel” (Proverbs 20:3).

Second, we should avoid a quarrel that is not our own when we are not asked to help.

“Like one who seizes a dog by the ears is a passer-by who meddles in a quarrel not his own” (Proverbs 26:17).

When we engage in such a conflict, we will feel the pain of the teeth of those involved lacerating our flesh.

Are you nearing combat with a fool? Are you thinking of getting involved in a quarrel that is not your own without being asked? If either answer is “yes,” then avoid the conflict.

Episode 72: Wisdom in Conflict Management Styles from mitchkrusetv on Vimeo.