Proverbs 18:2 “A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinion.” I like this quote, “Seek first to understand and then to be understood.” Many times we will not get the validation of being understood. When I seek first to understand, my anxiety about an other persons behavior diminishes. Hurting people, hurt others. I am not giving people an excuse to hurt each other by acknowledging this. I’m practicing understanding. It’s easy to get judgy and air my opinion and find people that will agree with me. What good is that? It only increases anxiety and hate in my heart. When I was married, I found lots of things wrong with my husband’s behaviors. I would air my opinion to my “so called friends“, they would agree with me and I’d feel justified in my anger. My problems would grow!! I never sought to understand. I just complained about him to my friends. I call those friends, “So Called” because true friends help us be better people, not commiserate with us in the darkness. True friends would have turned me to Biblical teaching not joined me in the darkness. If I could do that relationship over, I would talk directly to him and seek to understand not run to people to understand me. Today, if you are frustrated with someone behaviors, be inspired to speak directly to that person if possible. Seek to understand, even if you cant talk with them directly. It also really helps me to “own” my part in what is wrong. “A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his tongue.” Don’t be a fool today, you may end up like me….. divorced and that is a really tuff road.
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