Day 18 - Proverbs 18

WCC

WATERFORD COMMUNITY CHURCH - 11:00am SUNDAY WORSHIP

by: Kim Rushing

01/31/2022

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Some older readers may recognize the name Paul Harvey.  He was an iconic radio broadcaster made famous by his daily three-minute segments called "The Rest of the Story."  The set-up was simple.  Harvey would tell a familiar story but add an unknown twist at the end.  For example, he once told the story about an old monastery down in Texas that became a bar, and was nicknamed "The Cottonwood" because of it's location in a grove of trees.  But then the bar was bought by the historical society because of its significance in the Mexican / American War. 

But then there's the rest of the story.  Cottonwood was the English name for the place.  In Spanish the word for cottonwood is alamo.  

Over the course of almost thirty years Harvey shared some 3,000 of these types of stories - but he wasn't the one to invent them.  All throughout history we have examples of only part of the story being told.

Solomon talked about that idea in today's chapter.  Several times.  Here's one instance, but there are at least three more that echo the idea.

18:13

To answer a matter before listening is a folly and shame.

So many times we only get part of the story, just enough to form an opinion and share it.  But the wise person?  He works to get the whole story.  A common axiom (not attributed to Solomon) tells us that "there are two sides to every story."  That's pretty much true. 

Read Proverbs 18 (and look for those other verses!)

We need to be disciplined enough in our listening habits to work to get all the details, and to hear from all sides before forming our opinion/judgment or sharing what we think.  Unfortunately that's not always easy or sometimes even possible.  So in the case of the latter, we might be wise to add some "intros" to our responses.

  • "From what I have heard so far..."
  • "Here's what I'm thinking, but I could be wrong..."
  • "I'd love to comment, but I think I need more information..."
  • "There's probably more to this story that what I've heard..."

Solomon talks about listening - and listening means more than to just stop talking. 

Listening requires that we pay attention to what is being said.  
Listening requires that we ask questions.
Listening  requires that we try to gather all the details.

Today's wisdom:

Get the facts first.

(or get the rest of the story)

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Some older readers may recognize the name Paul Harvey.  He was an iconic radio broadcaster made famous by his daily three-minute segments called "The Rest of the Story."  The set-up was simple.  Harvey would tell a familiar story but add an unknown twist at the end.  For example, he once told the story about an old monastery down in Texas that became a bar, and was nicknamed "The Cottonwood" because of it's location in a grove of trees.  But then the bar was bought by the historical society because of its significance in the Mexican / American War. 

But then there's the rest of the story.  Cottonwood was the English name for the place.  In Spanish the word for cottonwood is alamo.  

Over the course of almost thirty years Harvey shared some 3,000 of these types of stories - but he wasn't the one to invent them.  All throughout history we have examples of only part of the story being told.

Solomon talked about that idea in today's chapter.  Several times.  Here's one instance, but there are at least three more that echo the idea.

18:13

To answer a matter before listening is a folly and shame.

So many times we only get part of the story, just enough to form an opinion and share it.  But the wise person?  He works to get the whole story.  A common axiom (not attributed to Solomon) tells us that "there are two sides to every story."  That's pretty much true. 

Read Proverbs 18 (and look for those other verses!)

We need to be disciplined enough in our listening habits to work to get all the details, and to hear from all sides before forming our opinion/judgment or sharing what we think.  Unfortunately that's not always easy or sometimes even possible.  So in the case of the latter, we might be wise to add some "intros" to our responses.

  • "From what I have heard so far..."
  • "Here's what I'm thinking, but I could be wrong..."
  • "I'd love to comment, but I think I need more information..."
  • "There's probably more to this story that what I've heard..."

Solomon talks about listening - and listening means more than to just stop talking. 

Listening requires that we pay attention to what is being said.  
Listening requires that we ask questions.
Listening  requires that we try to gather all the details.

Today's wisdom:

Get the facts first.

(or get the rest of the story)

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