Monday; March 16
Have you ever been in the
middle of a conversation and had someone come up and interject their
opinions? They had missed all the
background for the discussion – but they were willing to share their
insights. It’s kind of irritating when
people do that, isn’t it – I mean, what gives them the right to interject
themselves into a discussion they may not fully understand. Now, let’s stop here for a second and revise
the question – have we ever done that?
Have we ever offered an opinion on a subject for which we may (or may
not) have had good information or even a knowledge of the foundation that had
been laid before our interjections? As
irritated as I may have gotten when people did that to me, now that I think
about it … I am a bit embarrassed when I have done that to others.
If it makes us feel any
better, we probably aren’t alone sticking our noses where they don’t
belong. In fact, I would imagine it is
quite common in human interactions – or at least common enough that the Wise
Man of the Old Testament noted, “He who gives an answer before he hears, it
is folly and shame to him.” (Proverbs 18:13).
While it may be commonplace enough that we have a proverb that warns
against it, it is going to be up to each one of us to think before we
speak. Let’s be patient enough to be
asked for our opinion and wise enough to have as many facts as possible before
offering an opinion. Maybe when we are
reticent to speak we’ll be more welcome in other people’s conversations.
Think About It!