I recently came across this passage as I was doing my devotions.
“Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse, and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury. Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.” (Proverbs 9:7–9 ESV)
What caught my attention is this is so relevant to apologetics. Apologists (including me at certain points) tend to focus our time on the diehard skeptics. We debate the people who are the most convinced that they are right and we are wrong and we feel like we are doing real ministry. What feels good about these encounters is they keep coming back for more and it can be a lengthy conversation (if we can call it a conversation).
While I don’t think we should ignore skeptics, I don’t think that we should spend most of our time with the people least likely to change their mind. We should look for the seekers and the people who are sincerely searching for the truth. There are people interested in God and the Bible and we have the knowledge to help them.
As this Proverb states, trying to instruct a scoffer is only asking for trouble. State your beliefs and when they scoff, just move on. Don’t let them distract you from the wise, that is those who know they are missing something and are looking for the truth.
- Proverbs
- Scoffers
- Seekers
- Skeptics
