Who Is “They?” 😄 - Day 245 Month 9-1 Week 33-7
Today's Reading (Bible in 1 year)
1 Kings 20, Proverbs 26:1-14, Ezekiel 39:25-40:4, 2 Corinthians 8
Who Is “They?” 😄
“Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Proverbs 26:12).
When Alex was younger and in his teens, Sylvia, Alex and I would get into conversations about different topics but Alex would generally have an opinion that was different from what Sylvia and I would typically think. We would ask him where that reasoning would come from and his quick response would be, “well they say …” and that would be his statement of authority on the given subject. After a few of these types of discussions, Sylvia and I would call him on it. It would be something like this. “Who is your “they?” because our “they” is (blank) and what they are saying is different from what you are saying.” Sometimes we would increase our statements of authority with the authority being our "royal they." We’d typically all have a good laugh about it but the point was made. It became a running joke but it is one of those things that we unwisely use as a way to give an edge in a disagreement when there is really nothing to back up our opinions. As an aside, whenever I am tempted to use the reasoning, and I have heard it but don’t remember where, I’ll say “I’ve heard it said that… It allows the possibility that I could be wrong but confirms that I did hear it somewhere.
Our family story is really about knowledge rather than wisdom. We don't want to confuse the two. But the same thing can happen with wisdom. Someone can become so convinced that their wisdom is greater than everyone else's that they end up looking foolish. True wisdom doesn't depend on pretending we know everything. Sometimes wisdom is recognizing what we don't know and knowing who to ask.
Have you ever gone to someone who you believe will give good advice and you say to that person. I am working through something right now and I wondered what your take is on this situation. That is asking for wisdom. I’ve had people come to me and ask for my advice on something that I am not qualified to answer. I might say, “I think if I were to do it, I’d do this…..” That’s not necessarily wisdom, that’s an idea. I’d say, “That’s only my idea but I’d talk to …. because they would have a better answer.”
That very thing happened to me yesterday. Sylvia and I were at a birthday party at a home on the Annapolis River. There was a dock out in the water that had shifted off its base during last winter's ice build up. The homeowner wanted to pick my brain about the dock and, though I had some ideas that I’d try if it was my dock, I recommended a name of a person to talk to who would have a better way.
For life advice, we try to talk to someone with wisdom. Once we get to the place that we ‘have it all figured out,’ we become the fool. Maybe wisdom begins with recognizing that we don't have it all figured out.
Finally, I’d love to hear from you, the reader. I know there are people reading but I’d love to hear your responses. Feel free to respond on FaceBook, Bluesky and X and you can leave a comment here on the blog. Also, feel free to email me on the email address listed below.
Have a great day!
Steve
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