225//don't be stupid and rude//

Proverbs 18:13 (The Message)

"Answering before listening is both stupid and rude."

And who says the Bible doesn't have stuff to help us be better people? This is pretty much the all time take-homer, and I think it's so important to be someone who listens listens listens wholeheartedly before talking talking talking, and someone who absorbs and really takes in what the person in front of you is actually saying. It's a simple 101 communication skill, but take it from someone who has so much to say (it's the Italian in me), and often thinks that the other person is done with their sentence prematurely: people need time to say what they need to say, people like being asked questions about their lives, and people, more than anything, want to be truly heard and understood. Having someone who not only listens to the things you've been thinking about and experiencing lately, but chews on it and maybe even responds? This is a very very special thing.

Jesus displayed this little proverb beautifully. It seems as though He wasn't in a rush to say anything, rather, He listened and waited for what they (the goodies and the badies) had to say. Even the ones who had awful things to say... he waited until they finished speaking, thought about what to say and responded with words - perfect words - that cut straight through the fake and phony, into the heart of the matter. That's another bonus of waiting before you speak... the Holy Spirit will tell you how to respond and you will speak the truth in love.

Don't be stupid and rude. Don't interrupt people when they are speaking to you, look people in the eye when you're in conversation with them, and love to listen to people always.
*
*
*
*
*