Proverbs 9:7-8
" He who corrects a scoffer gets dishonor for himself,
And he who reproves a wicked man gets insults for himself.
Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you,
Reprove a wise man and he will love you."
Truth: How you interact with unbelivers matters
When you work with, lead or are in a position where you have to have a relationship with a scoffer, you are in a hard spot. Scoffing in our society is often defined as an act of jeering or mocking something. And, even though the Old Testament uses a similar meaning Solomon carries an additional aspect of the scoffer's life in that he/she is often tied to the rejection of wisdom, sound advice, or correct counsel. The scoffer DOES mock and jeer, but the reason they mock or jeer is because they reject the truth being spoken. Scoffers are like fools in that they reject truth, but the scoffer is the outward, verbal or aggressor of this rejection. The scoffer has past the point of the fool and is certainly far more advanced than the naive one. The scoffer not only can't handle the truth and doesn't like the truth, they want to attack and ridicule the truth, thinking that promotes them. In the above two proverbs the scoffer is seen as a the one who attacks the one correcting him and actually brings dishonor on the person speaking the truth. You WON'T win an argument with a scoffer. He will hate you in the end. In contrast, a wise man looks for and desires correction. You can tell if you are talking to a wise man or scoffer by how they handle correction. You will walk away with honor or dishonor depending on the person you are talking to, not the truth you are talking. Odd, but true.
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