Proverbs 13:10
There are few things that bother me in life
more than someone who thinks they know it all. It is amazing when their opinion
is the only one that matters, or that they are right about everything. Now when
you get two people like that in the same conversation, look out! Chances are a
fight is on the way.
Part of being a person of integrity is
recognizing that we don’t know everything, that other people’s opinions matter.
For instance, we can’t know how another person feels until they tell us. And
they are entitled to feel that way. There is not right or wrong way to feel. The
words “You shouldn’t feel that way” just aren’t true, no matter how much the
know-it-all insists.
This is one of the reasons we all need to
learn to listen well. We all need to learn to see life from the other person’s
perspective, from their shoes. Unfortunately, our culture is now breading
people who only care about themselves. The think their life is the center of
the universe, and that their feelings are the only ones that matter. They post
every little detail about their lives on Facebook, as if they were on a reality
TV program. They brush their teeth and we read about it on FB. (Or at least
that is what they think we do!)
We all need to swallow the humble pill and
learn to listen to others. We need advisors, people who will tell us the truth even
if we don’t want to hear it. We need to be able to see beyond our own noses in
order to make good decisions, ones that will stand the test of time.
There is wisdom in taking advice. It is
foolish to think that we have to learn everything for ourselves. We don’t need
to be hit by a car to know that streets can be dangerous places. We can listen
to what our parents tell us. They have knowledge about cars and people: cars
win! Their advice is worth heeding.
When we learn that others know things, then our
knowledge can increase exponentially. We now don’t need to learn everything
ourselves. We just need to know where to go to get the knowledge we need. We
can just ask, or look it up. This is wisdom!
And when we gain wisdom, we don’t feel the
need to be on top on every issue. And when that happens, the need to fight to
save our image vanishes. Pride has taken a backseat where it belongs.