Proverbs - Listen

Proverbs 18:13

He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.

Answering a matter means giving a response or decision.  It is coming to a conclusion or saying something based solely on what has been heard up to that point.  As women who desire to be wise, this is not to be our way of handling matters.  Hearing a matter involves a few things;

1.  Mulling over all we have heard already before the Lord.

            This would involve bringing what has been said and done before the Lord in prayer.  He might show us some sort of missing piece of information or perhaps give us discernment of an exaggerated or minimized statement.

2.  Considering all that surrounds a given situation before the Lord.

            This is the part of considering all that plays into a matter.  This could involve the time of day, where someone is in the Lord, what sort of physical factors are at work, cultural influences, age, maturity and other elements. Also, body position, eye movements and subtle physical responses might be revealing pain, hurt, deception or bitterness.

3.  Asking questions before coming to any sort of conclusion.

            A good listener asks for information.  These questions may go deeper than the facts and go towards motivation and intentions.  These questions are not necessarily stacked in a way to support the conclusion we might be leaning towards but asked with an honest heart to understand and get all of the information needed in order to make a decision that pleases the Lord rooted in truth.

Let us be those women who hear with more than our ears and refrain our lips from speaking the assessment we often can come to quickly and hastily.  Then, we will be wise women speaking those things that are based on more than the first information we receive.