Marketplace Proverbs & Coffee With Ernie

Marketplace Proverbs and Coffee with Ernie-A Proverb Per Day Keeps Stinking Thinking At Bay · Dec 26, 2025 · 10m

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

Few passages in Proverbs sound more contradictory than this one. In one verse, Solomon says, “Don’t answer a fool.” In the very next, he says, “Do answer a fool.” At first glance, it appears to be sending mixed signals. But that tension is the lesson. In leadership, as in life, wisdom isn’t about having the correct answer every time; it’s about knowing when to answer and how to respond. There’s a kind of noise in…