Christian Devotional – October 19, 2017

Why do we talk and why do we listen? Continuing through Proverbs in chapter 18, we see more contrasts between what wisdom looks like and what foolishness looks like. As I read through verses 1 to 11, verse 2 stands out. A fool doesn’t have any interest in learning more. A fool would rather talk to hear themselves talk, than listen to learn and gain understanding. When we talk, is it just so we can hear ourselves speak?  Are we trying to impress people with our words? There is much greater understanding to be found in listening. If we will take our time to truly listen to the people around us we can learn a vast amount of other things. We begin to understand their motivation, their drive, their desire, not to mention all the specific content that we can learn. We must become Masters at listening to learn from others. We should not be listening solely so we can respond and hear ourselves talk.