Proverbs 18:13 “He who gives an answer before he hears, it is folly and shame to him.”  A huge part of leadership in any field and for a spiritual leader in his home to make certain he carefully listens before giving an answer or making a decision.  I learned long ago at work, home and church that there were usually two sides of most issues to consider.  If we do not listen to our verse today, we may face folly and shame.  This also means that we are to not make hasty and snap decisions until we have listened.  No one knows all the answers and it is easy in the time of stress or anger to make decisions that we later regret.  This can damage a child and is not the example we want to set.  It is much better to make a well informed decision than have to apologize for answering before you hear the issues.

I want to share an experience that my daughter and son-in-law had with their two young girls.  The oldest is named Grace and the youngest named Hope.  They were having a little sister squabble one afternoon upstairs from their parents.  My daughter called this to the attention of my son-in-law as their father to deal with it.  He called the girls down to the first floor and discussed the issue with them.  He then wanted to hear from them and listen before making his decision.  He asked them what they thought should be done.  The youngest, Hope, piped up and said, “Well, we could just sell Grace.”  This was not what he wanted to hear.  He later told me that he had a hard time not cracking up in laughter in their presence.  He did have their attention and handled the issue well.

This principle of listening before answering applies to all five areas of our lives in which we live each day:  personal, family, work, church and community.  It will be a witness and example that we are mature, wise and caring – all a part of our Christian walk.  Look at the life of Jesus as He normally asked questions and then took action.  He is our role model.