Today’s Proverb shows us the hallmarks of a fool and how they interact with others, while none of us want to be foolish, it also lends some understanding on how to be righteous:  

Pro 18:2  A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.

A foolish or wicked person does not want to listen, in fact they have no desire to understand anyone else’s point of view besides their own.  

The text also says they only want to express their own opinion…if we have ever talked with a fool, communication is a one way street to them.  Lots of talking, but zero listening!  

So while we have an understanding of how a fool talks to others, as in just broadcasting their own insights, how does a righteous of Godly person engage?   

The righteous person wants to understand, and rather than belching out their own “hot takes” they listen to others.  

A God-fearing person, or righteous person wants to understand, and we also need to apply that to how we approach God’s Word; as we learn in 2 Timothy 3:16 — All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness

God’s Word is given to us to correct us, and train us, so let us not approach it like the fool and apply worldly and secular principles to it, like “that was written by some man 1000 years ago” but that it is actually given to us by God and designed to give us the blueprint on how we should live our lives.  

As The Proverb today point out The righteous person is willing to understand that, while the fool has no desire to understand but rather broadcast their own foolishness!