"But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell."
Such is the warning from Jesus in Matthew 5:22, early in His Sermon on the Mount.
Before now, I had never noticed something interesting about Jesus' condemnation of those who would call their fellow man a "fool".
Take a look at Jesus' rebuke of the Pharisees in Matthew 23:17.
That's where Jesus rants at the Pharisees, "You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes it sacred?" This is the exact word from 5:22.
Either Jesus is a hypocrite --- or it is clear that it is not the word choice which is the issue, it is the heart behind it.
Some people really are fools, but only the God who sees into the heart is qualified to make that call.
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