April 24, 2022

Passage Read: Proverbs 10-13
Meditation Verse: 13:10

Thought

The wise know how and when to take advice. Because they are wise they should also have good advice to give. The prideful only know how to give advice, but not how to receive it, so they usually stir up argument. They just want to teach, they don't want to learn, and they want to force their opinion on others, because they are more concerned about being perceived as right than about understanding truth. But the wise know that they don't have perfect knowledge, though they've learned much, and they are more interested in truth than in forcing their answer on others, so they are quick to listen and evaluate against Truth what they hear. If there is wisdom in what they hear, they receive it and learn from it, adding it to what they already understand and conforming their life to reflect what they've learned.

Application

In the pursuit of wisdom and understanding, there must necessarily be discussion and debate. Wise men welcome that debate because they are eager to test and prove true wisdom, Truth. But prideful men only want to express their own opinions, and want their opinions accepted as wisdom. They are threatened by debate and only want to win, so it becomes an argument. I want to be a wise man, so I need to remember that there may be things I don't understand. I need to both ask questions and throw out competing ideas to see how they fit together or how they are proved inferior or superior. Only then can I really learn the truth. But not everyone is comfortable with debate, and I need to be careful with them.