Let's Go Back to the Bible

“The first one to plead his cause seems right”

For those who have dealt with people (or we could just say “with children”) long enough, you’ve probably come to realize that there are usually (and almost always) two sides to every story.  Yet, how easily we forget that fact sometimes!  Solomon stated this truism in Proverbs 18:17 – “The first one to plead his cause seems right.”  You hear the first side of the story, and it sounds so convincing, so true, so “unbeatable.”  The tendency, oftentimes, is to then speak and/or act based upon that first story.  Danger!  Danger!

Just four verses above this one we read, “He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him” (18:13).  What part of “a matter” do you suppose a person needs to hear before he answers it?  Some of it?  Part of it?  One side of it?  Or, both sides of it?

God tells us to “be swift to hear, slow to speak…” (James 1:19).  When we speak, react or offer advice, let’s do all we can to hear the whole matter first, lest God think us a fool!