Is it Ever Okay to Call Someone a “Fool”?
Christ said “anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell” (Matthew 5:22). Does this mean a believer can never, ever call someone a fool under any circumstances? Obviously not since the Holy Scriptures written through designated people by the Holy Spirit openly describe certain people as fools (2 Peter 1:21). Here are a few examples:
The fool says in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
there is no one who does good.Psalm 14:1
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
Proverbs 1:7
Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips and spreads slander is a fool.
Proverbs 10:18
As you can see, God’s Word describes a fool — an unwise person — as (1) someone who doesn’t believe in God, (2) is corrupt and vile, (3) despises wisdom & discipline, and (4) hates certain people and spreads slander about them, aka lies, false accusations and untrue stories. For further biblical descriptions of a fool, go here.
Furthermore, Christ Himself boldly called corrupt religious leaders “fools” in Matthew 23:17, not to mention several other names in that chapter. This shows that calling someone a “fool” may be appropriate on occasion.
How do we balance this out with what the Messiah said in Matthew 5:22? Let’s read the full passage:
21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.”
Matthew 5:22
“Context is King” is a hermeneutical rule for good reason and the topic of this passage is murder. Christ traces the sin of murder to its source, the heart. In other words, murder begins with an attitude of carnal hostility. Speaking of which, hatred is unjust hostility and it is a work of the flesh, as detailed in Galatians 5:19-23. A good example of carnal hatred is those who lie about others – gossiping, slandering, smearing. The Bible says “A lying tongue hates those it hurts” (Proverbs 26:28) thus slanderers hate those they smear with lies.
I specified carnal hatred because not all hatred is of the flesh. For instance, the Bible says “To fear the LORD is to hate evil” (Proverbs 8:13). This explains why Christ boldly called the corrupt religious leaders of Israel “blind fools” in Matthew 23:17. He hated their corruption — their gross hypocrisies — and, as the Scripture says, “open rebuke is better than hidden love” (Proverbs 27:5). We know Jesus never sinned (1 Peter 2:22, Hebrews 4:15 & 2 Corinthians 5:21), so this hatred was spiritual hatred, not carnal hatred.
In light of all this, every believer has to search his/her heart before calling someone a fool or any other name. Make sure you’re led of the Spirit. Make sure what you say is true and not a lie, even if it’s figurative. For instance, John the baptist called the Pharisees and Sadducees “brood of vipers” in Matthew 3:7, meaning “offspring of snakes.” While this wasn’t literally true, it was figuratively correct since snakes & scorpions are biblical figures for the devil (Luke 10:19); as such, John was calling these false religious leaders children of satan, as Christ later did (John 8:44). While this may not have been nice, it was kind and good since both John and Jesus were implementing tough love. Sometimes the best thing you can do for a person who’s arrogant & corrupt — especially those in leadership positions — is openly rebuke them because only the truth can wake them up to their error and set them free.
So make sure your motive is tough love and not carnal hatred before calling someone a fool or any other name, otherwise you’ll be in danger of the fires of Gehenna, as the Messiah said.
Related Topics:
Is Name-Calling Ever Appropriate?
How to Confront & Correct (and How NOT to)
Jesus Christ — Milksop or Mighty Lord?
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