Butt in, or Butt Out?

(Proverbs 26:17 KJV)  He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears.

When should we meddle and when should we pass by?  This is a real question because there are other places in Proverbs where it points out that we should rebuke, teach and counsel.  The English translations have the idea of a conflict that does not concern you.  I can’t find how that is justified in the Hebrew but it appears in one form or another in the English. 

I would possibly tie this together with how wisdom is wasted on fools and how people who won’t listen won’t learn.  We need to ask ourselves if we are wasting our time by sticking our nose in the situation.  Years ago we were working with a battered wife.  She was totally against doing anything about the situation.  We made many suggestions and offered many types of help.  We could not even go to court because she would not press charges.  There came a point where we needed to stop meddling.

So?  Sometimes you can only learn the hard way.  Sometimes we need to take risks and find out later we should have stayed out.  Be assured that there is a time to pull back and a time not to get involved.