The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight; for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young-let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance-for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. Proverbs 1: 1-7, NIV.
Holy Father and our God, today we bow our hearts and our minds to the guidance of Your Holy Spirit. Please accept us we pray, as we gather to study Your Word, in the precious name of Jesus! Amen.
One more day, and the year 2009, will be behind us, forever! However, the results of the decisions we made during this year will also remain with us forever, for good or bad. Because of this it behooves us to gain as much wisdom as we can in order to make wise decisions every day of our lives. Today we will look at two more of the purposes for which the proverbs were written.
“[L]et the wise listen and add to their learning[.]” Have you ever heard someone say, “There is always something to learn[?]” Or, “No one person knows everything” (That is self-evident). I usually say, “Life is a university from which we will never graduate.” The truth is, as long as we live, if we are willing, we will constantly be learning. According to Solomon, even the “wise” can add to their learning. The key word here is listen. When I was a small child, I heard many adults when scolding their children say something like this, “If you listen, you will hear.” At the time it did not mean much, if anything. Since then, it has made a lot of sense to me.
Listening to someone has several layers. I found some interesting definitions of the word listen on the Free Dictionary, by Farlex, which we can look at briefly. The first is:
To pay attention. This was really what the old folks meant when they said “if you listen you will hear.” If we paid attention when people spoke, we would be actively, listening. Many of the underlining meanings of a conversation are lost because people are not paying attention to facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice. Unfortunately, because of this, so much is lost! This happens quite often because we are such a busy society, so much in a hurry that we cannot take the time to hear what we are saying to one another.
Make an effort to hear. When we sit in conversation, it should be with the purpose to not only say, but more so, to hear, what is being said. We should decide to hear, what the other person is saying. If necessary, ask them to repeat any portion of the conversation you believe you missed. If we take time to converse with someone, it is usually an indication that we believe they have something worth listening to; so listen!
Concentrate on hearing. You will notice that every definition called for an active effort, on the part of the hearer. For most of us, talking is what we consider the active part of a conversation. I believe, according to these definitions that listening is just as active, if not, even more active, because of the effort needed to really hear what is being said. The truly wise person, is one who listens to what others have to say, because he or she knows that there is always something to learn!
“[L]et the discerning get guidance-for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.” The same principle that is true for the wise, is true also for the person who is known for his or her ability to discern: there is always something to learn. Even though a discerning person is very perceptive, and exercises sound judgment, it does not make him or her infallible. They can always use some overseeing. They can benefit from the help of another in receiving additional insight into the profound teachings of the sages, or just the everyday lessons of life. As the saying goes,”Two heads are better than one.”