He who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own
Is like one who takes a dog by the ears Proverbs26:17
Grab a dog by the ears and you will in all likelihood be bitten!
This is the balance to the verse we looked at yesterday - there is a time to get involved and there is a time to mind your own business. Unfortunately human nature is slow to help and quick to get involved in loud arguments - just the opposite of what God wants us to be!
One of my favourite sayings is "God has given us two ears and one mouth - go figure!" The problem is that we all have opinions and it is soooo tempting to air our opinions - even when our opinions have not been requested! This almost always gets us into trouble!
There is another well-known saying that is appropriate here: In situations like this people would rather _see_ a sermon than _hear_ one. We as Christians are often guilty of being opinionated and pontificating instead of being gracious and service-orientated.
Let's be people who are quick to help and slow to voice our opinions!
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
