Do not pay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you. (Ecclesiastes 7:21)This is a wonderful example of Ancient Near East humor and wisdom rolled into one. First the writer warns that if we listen hard enough to hear people praising us, we're just as likely to hear someone maligning us. If we would have minded our own business, we wouldn't have heard the praise, but then we wouldn't have heard the insult either. And, who are we kidding? Even a dozen accolades can't take the sting out of one insult.
A pastor I know had just finished preaching and was standing at the back door shaking hands. A man walked up and asked, Is that the best you can do?
Reminds me of the time we were getting ready to go out for the evening and my wife asked, Is that what you're going to wear?
Uh... no; are you kidding? Wear this? How could you even ask that?
And part of what makes this all so funny is that we've done exactly the same thing. The writer continues: ...for you know in your heart that you yourself have cursed others. But it sounded so innocent when I said it about him, and so mean when he said it about me.
Listen hard enough, and you're bound to hear something that hurts your feelings.
Who are you listening to? There's only one opinion that really counts.
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