I am a retired pastor who serves my church as an elder/pastor and certified biblical counselor. Over the years, I have had to deal with men who profess to be Christians but have more in common with the biblical fool.

What I mean by that is that while they proclaim Christ, their life pattern reflects a disregard for God’s wisdom and guidance. This arises from either neglecting God’s Word as a source of wisdom or ignoring it altogether and instead being controlled by unrighteous passions of the heart.

In my experience, the most common characteristic of the biblical fool is that he is a characterologically angry man.

The Book of Proverbs addresses anger and the folly uttered when a person is angry.

The wise lay up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near. (Pro. 10:14, ESV)

The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly. (Pro. 15:2, ESV)

Careless speaking is what is in view in both of the Proverbs, but it goes without saying that when a person is angry, careless speaking is the norm rather than the exception.

In the Bible, a fool is not someone who simply lacks intelligence—a fool is someone who lacks wisdom, especially spiritual wisdom. A fool speaks carelessly in anger with the intent to wound or punish another person. They disregard God’s Word and do not think of the consequences.

While all of us can be guilty of speaking carelessly in anger, the biblical fool has a characterological problem that has not been addressed. They live as if “there is no God” (Psa. 14:1), meaning God is not relevant in their lives.

Because the fool ignores biblical wisdom, they are usually unteachable.(Pro. 1:7) and believe they are always right:

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,  but a wise man listens to advice. (Pro. 12:15, ESV)

As stated above, fools are controlled in the heart by their passions and desires, so they do not seek to understand but instead angrily express their own opinions.

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

The fool has a characterological issue because he speaks and acts in a repetitive manner rather than an occasional outburst.

Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly. Pro. 26:11, ESV

Because fools will not listen to correction, they repeat their folly time and time again. The dog vomits up food presumably because the food does not agree with it, yet it eats the vomit.

The fool cares only to voice his self-centered opinions and harm others in their speech. We sometimes call such a person a “loose cannon,” meaning they do not control their tongue.

A fool’s mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul. (Pro.18:7, ESV

Sadly, the fool mocks sin with his speech and angry outbursts, and whether he realizes it or not, takes pleasure in blasting others.

Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool, but wisdom is a pleasure to a man of understanding. (Pro.10:23, ESV)

Unless the fool repents and seeks to change his ways, his path will be destruction and ruin. His lack of repentance and desire to change usually indicates he was not converted in the first place.

In essence, a biblical fool is someone who chooses to live a life apart from God’s wisdom and guidance, leading to destructive outcomes for themselves and often for others.

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