There's two types of people in this world. The first kind, when they walk into a group of other people, say, "Here I am!" The second kind, when they walk into a group, say, "There you are!"
Unfortunately, I am of the former. I'm not gonna lie - I enjoy being the one who's voice is heard first. I was never one of the people who liked to wait until everybody finished what they were saying so that I could put in my two cents. You either heard my two cents, or no one else's! (Humility is obviously my key strength.) This tendency can often get you into a spot of trouble. Like that one time where I asked someone who's house was dirty if they owned a broom. But that's a story for a different time.
Today, I was with a student from this ministry I'm involved with and they were telling me about something pretty personal. I was ready to issue my advice from the moment he laid out his problem. He wanted an answer, and I definitely, assuredly, and undeniably had a definitive answer for his struggle. However, a second before I could continue to lay out the gems that would prospectively pour out of my mouth, he interrupted me with one more sentence. I allowed him to continue, and he laid out a side of the story that made me entirely reconsider what I should say. If I would have said what my noodle was originally pondering, I would have misled him and probably done some damage.
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. (James 1)Maybe I need to stop running my mouth. I should probably start listening more, and learn the value of silence. Perhaps you've heard me talk enough and the Word of God is enough to illustrate the point my fallible fingers are trying to type out.
Maybe I should stop talking.
1 comments:
Silence is golden... the more you listen the less you have to say.
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