Listening with Wisdom

If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.

(Proverbs 18:13)

Have you ever reacted quickly and emotionally to what another person had just said, without asking them what they really meant by what they said and getting clarification, but only found out later that you had misunderstood them, that they didn’t mean what you thought they meant?

Unfortunately, I have done that many times. Thanks be to God that by His grace, He used a friend in my life to gently advice me not to assume what another person meant, but to ask more questions to understand them better. This is counsel of great wisdom, and the Holy Spirit often reminds me and prompts me to think of this in conversations with others, especially when I feel or suspect that the other person might have an evil intent, so that I do not misunderstand them and act quickly and emotionally like a fool, and in so doing sin against God and against the other person.

Listening well is so critical in our interactions with others. The Lord teaches us how to listen in Proverbs 18:15, “The mind of the prudent acquires knowledge, And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” We are to listen with an open heart, open mind that is centered on Christ (i.e., listening with the goal to glorify God), and we are to take the active role, to “seek knowledge” – one practical application of this “seek knowledge” is doing our best to seek to know and understand what the other person is truly expressing, not what we think/assume that they are saying, and to not assume that they have an evil or bad motive. May the Lord give us wisdom and grace to listen well and love with humility and kindness, bringing Him glory and honor!