Do you ever wish you could silence the foolish people? Those who blab off their mouths and spew gossip and lies? Maybe you would like to walk up to them and deliver the perfect one-liner that leaves them without a response? Fortunately, most of us aren’t that witty or quick, which saves us a lot of headaches. There is a way to silence foolish people. It is through your good deeds. Leave them speechless by what you do, not by what you say.
1 Peter 2:15
“For it is God’s will that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good.”
The Way of the Foolish
When wronged by another person, our initial reaction is to defend ourselves. They attack us by spreading rumors and gossip. We want to confront the person. We dream of the perfect comeback to their slander. Unfortunately, the reason the person is foolish is that nothing silences them. Their mouths run on and on. Proverbs often warn us about stooping to the level of a foolish person. Prov 10:8 The wise of heart will receive commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin. Just as the old saying goes: “it does no good to wrestle with a pig, you both get dirty, but he enjoys it.”
Be Wise in How You Act
The way to handle a foolish person is by doing good. Doing good means doing the right thing, loving your neighbor, serving the poor, and standing up for those who are weak. Doing right doesn’t mean you do whatever the foolish person wants, although Romans tells us we should. Over time, your good deeds will silence whatever slander is said about you. When people look at the evidence, they will see someone working hard at doing good and someone who is just blathering on.
Leave Them Speechless
Your good works won’t silence the fool, but it will counteract their ignorance. Fools make a big scene and draw attention to themselves, but it eventually fades. At first, people will believe the fool because they are convincing but eventually, their ways will become evident, and those people will pull away. Our response should be to continue to do good. Be wise in how you act and what you say. Continue to be obedient to Christ, and exhibit His Spirit in our hearts by doing good deeds. Eventually, people will see the ignorance of the foolish person and stop listening. They will see the consistent good works you have done and realize that it was all foolishness.