"Until" - Short Thoughts on Proverbs 18:17

 

(The following is what I sent out today in my weekly letter to the congregation)

There is a verse that has become increasingly more meaningful to me over the past ten years, and more so in the last three. It’s Proverbs 18:17 and it goes like this, “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.” Honestly, there have been many times where I have fallen into the hole that this verse is warning us about. I can remember loads of incidents as a parent, as a Sergeant in the Air Force, and as a pastor, when I have only listened to one side and then jumped to erroneous conclusions that came back round to kick me from behind. But the point of this verse is quite healthy, and health-giving.

• It’s good to keep this verse at the forefront of your mind when your adult children, or your little kids, come and tell you their heartbreaking story. “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.”
• This verse gives you the way to help others whose relationships are stressed, and they come to you trying to garner support for themselves, because they feel they’ve been terribly wronged by another. “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.”
• It is richly useful when there is conflict in a denomination or congregation. “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.”
• It is deeply significant when you listen to, or watch, the media reports and find your heart rate launching sky-high. “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.”
• It will guide you well through the morass of office politics when co-workers are airing all the injustices they have faced at the hand of that supervisor or those office mates. “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.”

The primary aim of this verse is not to negate our compassion, care, or concern. But it does rescue us from jumping to unwise conclusions and making unjust assessments before we know more of the facts. As I pointed out in some detail back in April and May while doing the class “Hair on Fire,” this is what I have learned to do with media reports and social media. And I have found it a wholesome approach when helping others. “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him” (Proverbs 18:17).

“May grace and peace be multiplied to you” (1 Peter 1:2b).

Pastor Mike