Wise words, but we have to be careful to understand the context and the breadth of the instruction. Some might take a quote like this and conclude we should avoid uneducated, ignorant, maybe poor or sinful persons, but that is clearly not the biblical instruction. We are to serve the poor, and I have no doubt we are also to serve the "foolish".

So perhaps the intent of this quote is like Proverbs 27:17 "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another."

Meaning that we are to look to fellow believers to sharpen our knowledge of Christ, our faith and discipleship, and as Proverbs 20 says "wisdom", but nevertheless we are to in the world, even though simaltaneously not of it. Serve everyone, prostitutes, tax collectors, theives, poor, and even the "foolish"; love everyone, as He loves, but to befriend is another topic all together.

You can love someone, and serve them without "making friends" in the way I suspect is meant in Proverbs 20. We serve them, we dont lean on them for food, information, or help, as we might with a "friend".

What do you think? I am just trying to work through this right now. I think its really valuable to walk through the language in this way because the bible can seem confusing or contradictory at times, but when you really get into it I think you ALWAYS find that the language is NOT contradictory at all, but in fact complementary. That it all works together in unison, and so we need to somehow reconcile Proverbs 20 with John 17, where it is prayed that we believers would be in the world, but not of it.

Thanks for the post!