The Three Bad Men (or Women) of the Book of Proverbs
The simpleton, the fool, and the scorner are the bad boys of Proverbs, and I mean that in no endearing sort of way.
We sometimes use these words that we see in Proverbs interchangeably and understandably so. These guys are the bad guys in the book of Proverbs. They are the ones that mothers hope their babies never become. Let me introduce them to you so that, as you read Proverbs, you will have a sense of the type of person the text is talking about.
They are all bad guys, just different types of bad guys. Two think they are just fine, while the third, knows he is a problem child and loves it. Each one thinks that because he is not one of the other two, he is not as bad as he actually is. We get an introduction to them in Proverbs 1:22.
How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity?
For scorners delight in their scorning,
And fools hate knowledge.
There is a tendency to think that because of the repetitive nature of Hebrew poetry, these are just synonyms used as poetic devices for the sake of interest. There is more to it than that. These are different people. Their thinking is different and the way that they interact with others is different, and despite all that they are all three still on a path to destruction.
The simpleton.
The simple one is one who loves simplicity. He doesn’t know much and likes it that way. He has Peter Pan syndrome. He does not want to grow up. He does not want to plan for or think about the future. He wants to live only in the moment. He is the person for whom “adulting” is hard (Proverbs 22:3)
There are two common characteristics in the thinking of the simple one. He is lazy and full of excuses (Proverbs 22:13). He is a sluggard. He just doesn’t like hard work. He expects life to be easy and for others to provide for him (Proverbs 6:6-11).
He is willfully ignorant. He is not interested in having wisdom because that knowledge might spoil his fun (Proverbs 7:5-8). So, because he is willfully ignorant he takes risks and makes choices that lead to his own destruction.
He is gullible (Proverbs 14:15). He only listens to what he wants to hear and therefore it is easy to take advantage of him. We all start out simple but should become wise.
The fool.
The fool is best characterized by Proverbs 3:7. He is wise in his own eyes. He trusts his own mind above everything else (Proverbs 28:26). The fool rejects wisdom because he already thinks that he is wiser than anyone who might teach him. He walks through life with a sense of arrogance refusing to believe that he is wrong—almost ever—even when his foolish arrogance is staring him in the face.
He thinks he knows more about the Bible than the preacher, more about life than his parents, more about money than the wise man, more about running a nation than the King, and more about everything than God (although he might deny that last one).
He rejects knowledge, refuses warnings, takes the prominent seats at the banquets, is devoid of true humility, and despises those who do not feed the flames of his arrogance with fawning flattery.
You cannot reason with him. If you try to correct him, he lures you into ridiculous arguments, if you do not answer him, he takes your silence as an affirmation of his superiority (Proverbs 26:4-5).
The scorner
The scorner (also called a scoffer) is different from the other two. The fool thinks he is right. The scorner hates anyone who is right and especially those who would dare teach him anything (Proverbs 9:7-8, 15:12). He often has a heart that is full of bitterness over some wrong or perceived wrong in the past. He lives to not only do damage to the righteous but also views the righteous with a sense of disdain and sometimes hatred. He delights not only in going his own way but also in turning others away from the truth (Proverbs 29:8). He loves to paint himself as the victim and paint everything about the truth as “toxic.”
While the other two are bent on their self-destruction even though they do not know it, the scorner is bent on destroying others. That is why Proverbs says that he must be cast out before he does damage to others (Proverbs 22:10). Satan is a scorner. In fact, the scorner must be publicly corrected as an example so that the simple might become wise (Proverbs 19:25, 21:11). He is a cancer on anyone he touches and he spreads a malignancy of evil wherever he goes.
He knows he is evil, he knows he is mean, and he loves it. There is a special judgment for this kind of person (Proverbs 19:29, Romans 1:28-32).
Notice these guys as you read the Book of Proverbs. Be able to recognize them when you see them in everyday life. Do everything you can to keep your children from growing up to be one of them. But most of all, make sure you never ever see one of them when you look in the mirror.
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