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Understanding

                 Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. (Proverbs 18:2)  

                This morning, I found a post on Facebook calling for us to pass laws that prevent communists from holding office in America and asking who agreed. Then I found this verse in Proverbs 18. At the risk of being one of those fools who delight in airing their (my) own opinion, it seems to me that this verse is a warning that we desperately need to heed.

                One of the warnings we hear about communists is that they are authoritarian. They take away people’s rights, etc. And I have read enough history, philosophy, and psychology to believe that. When you are in control of things and expected to make everything “wonderful,” there aren’t many lengths you won’t go to achieve your goals. The problem is, making it illegal for a communist to hold office is an example of the exact same behavior. If, in the name of fighting your enemy, you behave just like your enemy, you are no better than your enemy. In fact, you have become your own enemy.

                The first part of the verse suggests that if we would not be fools, we must seek to understand.  The second part says we shouldn’t delight in airing our own opinions. We need to do better. Instead of a knee-jerk response of “off with their heads!” we need to dig deeper into the ideas. We need to build admirable lives, families, and communities that demonstrate the value of our ideas and ideals. To do that, we not only have to understand ourselves and our ideas/ideals, but we also have to learn to communicate that understanding in a way that is deeper, better, and clearer than the way those we disagree with do. Otherwise, we’re being foolish.

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