Daily Devotional

Like most proverbs, this verse is sometimes easier to put into practice than other times. There are certainly instances when we hear advice and know we should immediately put it into practice, but there are other times when we hear SO MUCH advice that it’s hard to decipher what we should listen to and what we should ignore. What if two contrary things both sound “wise”? What if two opposing sides of an argument have facts and figures to support their stance? With everything going on in our world right now, there is no shortage of advice being offered. Between the news, social media, friends, family, even complete strangers, everyone seems to have an opinion and so many opinions seem to contradict each other.

I don’t know the answers to a lot of the questions we are facing today, but I think more important than having all the answers is having the ability to listen. Are we open to listening? Or are we “right in our own eyes”? To be “right in his own eyes” speaks of one who doesn’t feel the need to listen to the counsel or instruction of others. There is certainly a need for conversations to take place and we should not only be ready to give advice, but also ready to listen. As it says in James 1:19, “let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.”

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.