"Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent."
Proverbs 17:27-28
Are we quick to listen and slow to speak as we are warned in James 1:19? If even a fool is deemed as wise just by keeping silent, how much more wise is a wise man who does the same? The verse begins by telling us that one who has knowledge and understanding will restrain his words. Can a christian be a fool? Well, there are many christians we know that do not keep silent and are quick to give their two cents. Think about all the times you have been accused and have been quick to defend yourself. Or times when you are being taught and instead of listening to the teacher for their wisdom, you are slow to hear and quick to give your "wisdom". Ironically, that is in itself not a display of wisdom, but of foolishness.
It is so easy to be quick to tell others our perspective. But God tells us in Proverbs 17 that there is more wisdom to be gained by being quick to listen. James tells us that when we are quick to speak we are quick to anger. Rapid defense is a form of anger. James 1:20 says, "for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness that God requires." Being quick to listen and slow to speak and slow to anger is an example of humility. The reason we are to do this is to be portrayers of Jesus Christ in being humbly submissive to wisdom and not haugty towards our own agenda. James also tells us that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
So the next time you are in a situation where you are able to learn from the wisdom of others, LISTEN! Be slow to share and quick to humbly listen to the wisdom of others. Obviously we should be able to share our wisdom with others too, but it is the one of knowledge and understanding that gains his wisdom by listening to others. We often are quick to speak and do not gain a full understanding of situations before we share our perspective. No doubt we all have opinions, but our opinions can be developed by the wisdom of others.
My encouragement is that we begin to listen to the wisdom that God has for us from His Word and from others, so we are able to grow in our knowledge and understanding.
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