Who is a Fool?

He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. Proverbs 13:20

The issue with people and this verse is, many do not know what God's standard is for a fool. People who are not in Christ will see this and have their own idea of what a fool is, and they surely are not one. But God says that anyone who denies the truth of His word is a fool. A person who justifies his sin, speaks his mind freely, and does not submit to biblical authority is a fool. It is not a mere derogatory turn of a phrase, it is a characteristic that is to be avoided. Proverbs 13:20 reveals a truth that is able to be seen by those who know us. We become like those we spend time around, and when what we desire is something self-serving, we're far more apt to be led in a wrong direction, one based on our emotions and not truth.

With what is going on in the world, battling worldviews are clearly seen. If we see the world through a biblical lens, the issues of race, power, wealth, class, and even COVID-19 tend to land in one place, and if we don't see the world through that lens, we see all of these things another way. Often people who are lukewarm, with one foot in the world and one foot in the church--so to speak--are the most tormented and liable to change positions depending on the day and who they are allowing to influence them. 

Let us ask God for discernment to see the world and these issues as He sees them, and then act accordingly. 

James 1:5-8, note the character of God

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.