Let’s talk about 3 types of people. There are wise people. There are wise people. There are foolish people. And there are evil people. Foolish people live by the power of the flesh. Wise people live by the power of the spirit. Evil people live by the power of demonic forces. What do you do with these 3 types of people? Spend more time, money, and energy with wise people. Spend limited time, money, and energy with foolish people. Spend no time, money, or energy with evil people.
Don’t treat people equally. Not all people are equally safe when it comes to relationships. Treat different
people differently. Treat people based on how they behave.
Love is free. Trust is earned. The Bible tells us to love people. It does not tell us to trust people.
Proverbs 24:1-3, 5-7
Wise People
No one is wise in every area. Some of us have wisdom, but we all have areas in which we need to grow. Wise people aren’t necessarily the most intelligent or most educated. They have the Spirit of God and live in the presence of God. Knowledge comes from school. Wisdom comes from The Spirit.
Key Features of Wise People
- Self-motivated to mature
- Ask questions
- Deal with reality
- Possess compassion and empathy
- Want to learn and grow
- Self-motivated
- Responsible
- Follow through on tasks
- Completes assignments
- Meets deadlines
If you correct a wise person, you will connect with them. The Bible says rebuke a fool and he will hate you. Rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Sometimes you can’t tell who is wise or foolish until you point something out. A wise person will love you for correcting them and connect with you. They’ll appreciate you for helping them and loving them enough to point out their errs. You have helped them to grow learn more and grow wiser.
Evil People
The Bible says some people are evil. They are intentionally dangerous. They intentionally cause harm. They use their energy to create injury. Sometimes their evil stems from trauma or past abuse. They will seem themselves as a victim because of the hardship they endured. Instead of healing that or forgiving that trauma through the Lord, they give Satan a foothold through bitterness. As a result, they believe they have a right to hurt others because they’ve been hurt. They are tormented by demonic powers. And through them, those demonic powers torment others.
These people were hurt, now they hurt. They were tormented, now they torment. Evil was done to them, now they do evil to others. These people can be controlling, demanding, intimating. They work through fear or punishment. People are afraid of them and accommodate them just trying to reduce the amount of pain and suffering they cause. They have a win/lose scenario where they always win and you always lose. They tend to be very low on empathy, sympathy, or compassion. They’re not thinking about what they’re doing to cause pain and harm to others. This is the opposite of Jesus. The most frequently mentioned emotion of Jesus in The Bible is compassion.
Evil people do not have compassion. They do not have sympathy. They do not have empathy. There’s something broken in their soul. Evil people live by the power of demonic forces.
Don’t Make Exceptions For Family Members
Other family members try to pressure us to make exceptions for foolish or evil family members. They try to get us to accept their evil an/or dysfunction. Just because someone is your mom or grandpa doesn’t mean they get to be the exception. During the holidays, when families tend to gather, these people make the occasion non-joyous.
Foolish People
All of us are foolish at certain times. We have all done something dumb at some point in our lives. We have areas of our life we have shortcomings. Foolish people are not necessarily less intelligent.
Wise people make plans. Foolish people make excuses. Foolish people waste their energy on excuses rather than invest their energy into making plans. They deny reality. Foolish people are life-taking and burden-givers. They tend to be lots of fun because they don’t think about the consequences. We enjoy them, but we don’t respect them.
Foolishness leads to evil. Over time, foolish behavior leads to evil behavior. For example, foolish people may dabble in recreational drugs and over time begin to steal and lie to support their full blown drug addiction. Another example is someone in a relationship lightly flirting with other people and eventually are cheating behind their partner’s back.
Your Life Today
Examine your life right now and ask yourself who is wise, who is foolish, and who is evil. Who should you be asking questions of and learning from? Who should you be listening to? Who should you not allow to influence your decisions and instead maybe influence theirs? Who should you be protecting yourself from?
A Relationship With Jesus
Form a relationship with Jesus for the best wisdom you can get. Become a part of the healthiest relationship you’ll ever benefit from. You’ve done foolish things and you’ve been evil. It’s time to be wise and link up with Jesus.
Proverbs 13:20 says that as you walk with the wise, you will become wise. You will begin to think like the wise, talk like the wise, and act like the wise. The results of wisdom are amazing.
Walk with Jesus and you’ll become wiser. Form a relationship with Jesus. How? Pray to Jesus. Talk to Jesus. Listen to Jesus. Read The Bible.
Jesus will change you. Jesus wants to be in a relationship with you. A relationship with Jesus is the ultimate relationship. If you are foolish, you cannot influence Him to do bad. He will make you better. If you are evil, you cannot corrupt Jesus, He will purify you.
