Hearing Test

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Proverbs 18:12–13 (KJV)Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility. He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.

What it is speaking to me:

There is a real danger in getting older. You have seen and experienced many things, and often seen them repeated. People begin to surprise you less and less. The danger is not in that, but in starting to think you know it all. Or if not all, certainly that you can "play the odds." So when faced with a matter, we jump to conclusions based on previous experience. Maybe we even jump to conclusions based on real, Godly wisdom and knowledge gained from those experiences. That isn't all bad in itself. I am grateful for the wisdom I have acquired from life's lessons; it would be worse not to have acquired it at all!

But with all that comes the danger of jumping to a conclusion. Giving the advice, giving the counsel, "answering" before hearing ALL of it. And it's tricky, because sometimes we do this and we don't even turn out to be wrong. But eventually, we will be. And it will cost us, and maybe others, dearly. That is why it is folly.

Maybe you have seen it happen:

Someone comes to you wanting advice about a person they are dealing with. They present their case, and more often than not, they are completely or mostly innocent in the matter while the OTHER person is really out of line. They want to resolve it and can't figure out why the other person is being so difficult. It sounds plausible, and the person talking to you seems so reasonable... so you weigh in.

OR...

You are amazed. When you talk to that "difficult" OTHER person, you find out how different their version of events is. Not so simple now. Your answer to both people is probably very different. Or maybe it isn't. But that answer only works because you have truly heard the whole matter.

This is just one of a million ways the wisdom of this proverb can play out. The point is, we don't want to learn this lesson the hard way. Folly and shame follow. Instead, we listen, ask questions, gather all the facts we can, and then give an answer.

What is it saying to you?

• Have you ever spoken before hearing everything? How did that work out?

• How has your answer changed after hearing the full story?

  
  

What are we going to do about it?

Commit to listening and asking clarifying questions in a conversation today before offering any opinion or advice.