Tiny Devotional for R.E.D. Friday, 07-23-2021

 A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors in Internet Land! And to family members who have dropped by, it’s George Phillies’ birthday!

Do not speak to be heard by a fool,
For he will despise the wisdom of your words.
Proverbs 23:9, NASB

Not. Listening!

Perhaps we can number our encounters with fools, by counting the times we offered good-faith wisdom, and it was rejected.
Thinking about that, it occurs to me that being a fool isn’t necessarily a full-time job. I remember individuals who acted the fool in one context, but not in another. Then again, maybe they were ALWAYS acting the fool, but just got away with it most of the time. Who knows?

I have despised wise words as well, although not so much in the last mumble-mumble years. I learned (eventually) that I didn’t know everything, and that I didn’t NEED to know everything; that seeking counsel was a good thing to do.

Consider this: I can induce foolishness in a person by acting like a jerk. Before I even speak, they already despise my words.
Mostly true: people don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care. 
While the super-wise can learn from anybody, the rest of us prefer nicer teachers. We’re more likely to learn from fellow beggars, who tell us where they found bread; we reject wisenheimers who hurl wisdom at us from above.

Therefore, the first thing I can do in order to spread my accumulated wisdom: 

Don’t be a jerk.

We bear this treasure in jars of clay, so people will see that it’s from God, not us. But if we stamp POISON on our jar, that’s all they see.

Just for today: Let’s don’t be a jerk.

Peace be on your household.