Proverbs 18:2,13
Fools do not want to understand anything. They only want to tell others what they think.
Seek first to understand, then to be understood. Seek to know why someone is asking something before just firing off an answer. It is imperative you know what someone means by what they’re saying before attempting to answer. We now live in a reality where most of the words we use can each mean a thousand different things. I guess 7 billion people and the social media vacuousness that pervades us will do that.
Jesus answered questions with invitations to go deeper. Rarely, if ever, is it ever recorded that He just straight up answered the question asked. This demonstrates how much He cared for the inquiring person, how tuned in He was to the heart. He did not fall into the cheap and not-so-helpful rattling off of an answer to show His knowledge or superiority.
Proverbs 18:19
A brother who has been insulted is harder to win back than a walled city, and arguments separate people like the barred gates of a palace.
Be patient and gentle, for one word of judgement or criticism can undermine everything you say to someone.
Once a person feels judgement or condescension, they typically shut down and stop listening to you. Or it’s possible they literally cannot hear anything else you say at that point because of the relational circuits of the brain being disengaged and shut off.
So begin with the end in mind. What do you really want from the conversation? If you want goodness and reconciliation, you will speak to them as a person on your same level, not as someone beneath you (with contempt).
Luke 5:39
No one after drinking old wine wants new wine, because he says, “The old wine is better.”
Watch that you are not holding on to traditions simply because you prefer them. Be open to the truth of the living God.
Test everything to see that it is His truth and not the mere tradition of men.
“This is the way we’ve always done it.”
God is not boring. In my experience, God is not the same ole thing over and over again. He is exciting and new all the time, ever greater, every moment.