Fool Proofing Your Life by Jan Silvious

This book is a tough one for me.  I really haven't decided yet on what I think about it.  The premise is that there are "fools" who make life difficult for everyone around them.  There have always been such people.  Silvious takes a look at the biblical description of a fool, categorizes types of fools, and then gives practical advice for dealing with the fool in your life. 

I struggled most with this book on  the fact that she refers to the difficult person in your life as "your fool."  It felt prideful to think of someone in my life and label them as a fool.  After all, perhaps I am the biggest fool.   Despite my hesitance to label people fools, Fool Proofing Your Life did have some biblical, practical insight into dealing with "your fool."  If you have someone in your life you just can't seem to make happy, who just seems angry all the time, who doesn't listen to reason, who stubbornly insists on their way, who consistently makes bad decisions...this book can help you take a step back and evaluate what you can do for your fool.... nothing.  You are incapable of changing another human being, so Silvious encourages you to look critically at the relationship and give it to God.  Accepting that is NOT my responsibility to change or improve the "fools" around me in a sense was liberating.  However, I didn't find the answers I was searching for with regards to how to relate to my difficult person, but the book still validate my feelings toward a particular person. 

The other thing this book did for me was inspired me to really read the Proverbs.  I highlighted every reference to what is foolish and what is wisdom.  I made a list of the characteristics of a fool, and I'm spending quite a bit of time in prayer to ask God to help me choose wisdom of foolishness.

If you have a person that is difficult to be around and you always leave feeling defeated, angry, or guilty, this book may be of help to you.  I have someone like that in my life...and I've really struggled with how do I relate to them in a God-honoring way and this book did have a few nuggets of wisdom for me...but I'm still searching, studying, and practicing.  I think my next book will be Boundaries by Cloud and Townsend.