2 Corinthians 11:17-19 — That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord, but as it were foolishly, in this confidence boasting. Seeing that many glory after the flesh, I will glory also. For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise.

I’m a little dissatisfied with myself today. I’ve been traveling, visiting some important customers. Today’s visit was very poorly organized. And at one point, I let my irritation show. The truth is, for a long time I wasn’t good at tolerating people I didn’t think were doing a very good job.
Since I became a Christian I’ve tried to do a better job. The words of Jesus, in Matthew 5, in which He condemns first anger, then contempt, and finally the destroying of another persons morals and character. I have tried to break myself of these kind of thought patterns. But today I was struck by the thought that I should think a little more carefully about the issue, and my attention was drawn to Proverbs 26:1-12 where King Solomon lays out his prescription for dealing with fools.
Fools are not to be treated with honor. A fool is not to be taken seriously, especially if he utters threats – especially the folly of fools is not to be dignified with a reply that seems to take it seriously. The answer returned to a fool should be the rebuke appropriate to his folly.Even when it seems that a fool might be making a good point it needs to be regarded with great suspicion.
The preacher king makes it clear that the wise man keeps the fool at arms length for “The great God that formed all things both rewardeth the fool, and rewardeth transgressors.” (Proverbs 26:1-10)
By the time I had finished my look at Proverbs 26, I was feeling a little better about my snippy attitude to today’s fool. Then I came to Paul’s passage in 2 Corinthians 11. Its clear from the context that Paul is being ironic. He is actually saying “Look you Corinthians, if you’re so smart, how come you deign to listen to stupid people? Part of being wise is being smart enough to push the fools off.”
Well, I get Paul’s point — but I know I’m kidding myself a little. Very few people in business a really fools. Usually when people don’t do a good job there’s a reason. Something is disrupting their ability to perform. I need to have the imagination to remember that and the willingness to give them grace, knowing that I have my foolish days too. You see, the verse from Solomon makes it clear — “Vengeance is mine says The Lord, I will repay — and oh, by the way, I’ll take care of the fools!”