He that is quick to anger will commit foolishness, but the man of thinking abilities is hated.”​—Proverbs 14:16, 17.

Prone to becoming furious, such a person acts foolishly. But how is it that a man of thinking abilities becomes an object of hostility?

The original-language expression translated “thinking abilities” has two meanings. In a positive sense, it can denote discernment or cleverness. (Proverbs 1:4; 2:11; 3:21) Or negatively, the phrase can refer to wicked ideas or malicious thinking.​—Psalm 37:7; Proverbs 12:2; 24:8.

If the expression “the man of thinking abilities” refers to a malicious schemer, it is not difficult to see why such a person is hated. However, is it not true that a man of discernment may also be hated by those lacking this quality? For example, those who exercise their mental faculties and choose to be “no part of the world” are hated by the world. (John 15:19) Christian youths who exercise their thinking abilities and stand up to unwholesome peer pressure in order to avoid improper behavior are ridiculed. The fact is that true worshippers are hated by the world, which is lying in the power of Satan the Devil.​—1 John 5:19.