Wisdom Listens

There is a sports talk show on ESPN called Pardon The Interruption. It's a daily talk show hosted by two or three guys who discuss, or more like argue, the different sports stories of the day. 

I never could get into the show because it's like watching one big shouting match. All the hosts do is talk over each other throughout the entire show. In an effort to get their point across, they try to talk louder and faster than the other person. I don't know if they intentionally titled the show Pardon The Interruption because all they do is interrupt each other, but it sure looks that way. 

Granted, this is part of the shtick of the show. It's intended to be light-hearted and, at times, comical, but it's also a reflection of our culture.

Not only do you find this reality in sports talk shows, but you also find it in the news. Interviews on cable news shows have devolved into shouting matches by two people trying to show why the other person is a moron. 

This cultural reality is only exacerbated through social media. It's as though when we post online, we forget that our words have consequences. Many social media posts appear as though people have forgotten about the simplicity of being respectful to people who think differently than you. **

We live in a world that loves to talk. We talk loudly, insistently, with great arrogance and overconfidence, unabashedly thinking we're always right. 

Perhaps this is why the book of Proverbs characterizes a wise person as one who listens. Proverbs opens by equating wisdom with the "fear of the Lord" (Prv 1:7). That is the linchpin phrase of the book, but before it even gets to that phrase, it offers up the encouragement to listen. We read in v5, "Let the wise listen and add to their learning." 

The call to listen not only comes from a place of wisdom but also a posture of humility. It recognizes that we aren't always right. That there are things we don't understand or know. That we need to learn from others to become the type of people that God desires us to be. 

The implication of this is that instead of being quick to make assumptions and draw conclusions, we need to exercise empathy and curiosity. We need to grow in the skill of asking questions, closing our mouths, and opening up our ears. In doing so, you will eventually become a person who has something to say.