Haus O' Deb

So I'm reading Exodus 4 yesterday, and I get to this part I must have skipped over every other time I read Exodus 4 in my life: God tells Moses to go give his message to Pharoah, and while he is on his way, God tries to kill Moses.  So then, Moses' wife circumcises her son and puts the bloody scrap on Moses' feet, and Moses doesn't die.  "What's the deal with that?" I start to wonder, as I look around for the book, Hard Sayings of the Bible.  

The cool thing that happened next is the real reason that I am writing about foreskin in my LJ today.  Since I couldn't find the book and thereby have somebody else tell me what the passage meant, I had to use my prior Biblical knowledge to make my best guess about what it meant.  I remembered that God had already made the covenant with Abraham about circumcision, and that Moses must have known that he was supposed to circumcise his sons.  Then I remembered that Moses got his wife somewhere outside of where the rest of the Jews were living, and that she must either not have been Jewish or not have been living according to the law .  So Moses had some serious sin against God in his family relationships, and his wife realized this and did what God required, saving Moses from God's wrath.  

Later, I looked at a note in my study guide that said basically the same thing that I had figured out.  

Now, the point of this is not that I was smart enough to figure out what the passage meant.  (Actually, I ought to have been able to figure it out much more quickly, and I'm a little embarassed about my lame-o OT knowledge.)  The point is that if you have been taught to read the Bible regularly and study it inductively, you will begin to have a Biblical way of thinking.  You will start to understand where the little parts of the Bible fit into the whole picture.  Although it is not a bad thing to gather wisdom about the Bible from commentaries and other teachers (in fact, it is a necessary part of the Christian life to interpret Scripture as a community, not only as individuals), figuring things out based on what you already know and what you see in the passage you are struggling with brings the meaning of the passage inside of you in a way that simply hearing the answer from someone else usually doesn't.  

If you are considering going to the Search the Scriptures track at Cross Training this fall, I would encourage you to do so.  You will learn to study the Bible the way I just described.  Small group leaders will find themselves less dependent on commentaries and advice from others, and more confident as leaders.  Small group members will find themselves more able to engage in conversation about the Bible, rather than simply looking to the study leader for the answers.  But most importantly, you will get the tools that will enable you to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in bringing the meaning of a passage inside of you, and then you will be more able to do what it says.  

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it is back for your enjoyment: the Proverb of the Day! And along with it come my disclaimers: 

1-The title Proverb of the Day does not imply that there will be a "Proverb of the Day" every day in this journal; 

2-The "Proverb of the Day" is the one that has "hit home" with me the most during my quiet time, and I will write about what it means to me, hoping that my reflections may help others who read--I do not choose it in order to send any kind of veiled message to any of my LJ friends; and 

3-When I use the word "we", I really mean "we", not "you losers out there"!  I'm choosing to use it instead of "I" because of the tendency for LJs to become narcissistic rantings of private thoughts made inappropriately public.  In the past, I have been guilty of writing this way.  So I will try to talk about what I think would be edifying to others and not just about my private foibles and struggles.
and now (drum roll, please...)

the Proverb of the Day!!

If one gives answer before hearing, it is folly and shame.      -Proverbs 18:13

How obvious should this one be, huh?  But it is so hard to apply.  

Why do some of us tend to interrupt people?  Here are several of the many reasons:

1-We "think out loud", which means that sometimes we feel compelled to talk in order to engage with what the other person is saying.  So sometimes, when we interrupt, it is because we are interested in the idea that the other person has just set forth, and want to explore it by talking about it.

2-We like our own ideas and feelings, and we are more concerned with them than with the ideas and feelings of the other person.

3-If the conversation is about conflict, we can be defensive and therefore argumentative.  Interrupting is an unconscious control tactic.

4-Sometimes the person is just talking too long (they can be self-centered, too), and we can't concentrate, so we want to deal with the first thing they said before they go on to something else and we forget the first thing. 

But God says that all of this is folly and shame.   

What would be holy about hearing before answering?

1-We would learn to "think quietly", which is a good skill to have, even if it goes against our natural inclination.

2-We would learn to care more about other people's ideas and feelings.

3-We could become more humble in conflict situations, realizing that we might just actually be wrong.  (Imagine that!!  :^0  )

4-We could develop patience by listening even if the other person is really a blowhard.  LOL!

But most of all, hearing before answering is just common sense, as is shown in this old joke:

Son: Daddy, where did I come from?

Father: (nervously, face turning red): Well, you see, son, when a mommy and a daddy really love each other, they have a special kind of hug... (and he goes on to explain the facts of life in all of their glory)

Son: I know all of that, Daddy, they taught us that way back in kindergarten. But Jeremy says he came from Cleveland, and I was wondering where I was born...

Here, the father needed to clarify what the son was asking before answering.  Asking questions about what the other person means can be a great way of hearing before answering.   

If interrupting has become a bad habit, we need the Holy Spirit to help us change it.  Just "trying harder" isn't enough--in the emotion of the moment, we will fail.  I know that as soon as I post this entry I will be asking the Holy Spirit to help me finally overcome this folly, and to gain the new habit of hearing before answering.  It is good to know that when we seek to obey God, He is on our side, more than willing to help us succeed!