Wisdom willingly waits for wisdom...
It's easy to hear or read something and immediately react. A wise person doesn't do that. A wise person gathers facts, listens to all sides, seeks truth and weighs in with a wise response, if response is needed at all, that is.
Think about a time when someone told you something you believed immediately only to later discover they were completely and utterly wrong. It's happened to all of us. Truth be told, we've probably been the cause of it happening to others more than once!
The Bible puts it this way: "The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him." (Proverbs 18:17 ESV)
A few verses before this one, we clearly see how to handle this kind of thing: "An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge." (Proverbs 18:15 ESV) See that, beloved friend? "An intelligent heart..." digs in and digs around; such a hearts seeks after truth.
The same chapter of Proverbs even tells us about a person that gives an answer before wisdom has spoken to their heart: " If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame." (Proverbs 18:13 ESV)
A wise person is willing to wait, even to work, to gather knowledge, listen to all sides, seek truth and then give a wise response.
It's hard to receive this in our fast-paced culture, but, well, isn't that the whole point? Wisdom is willing to wait to be wise!
No comments:
Post a Comment