Reading the Word

Proverbs 25:7–10 (ESV)
7 What your eyes have seen
8 do not hastily bring into court, for what will you do in the end, when your neighbor puts you to shame?
9 Argue your case with your neighbor himself, and do not reveal another’s secret,
10 lest he who hears you bring shame upon you, and your ill repute have no end.

Understanding and Applying the Word

Have you ever heard someone explain their side of a story and they had a strong opinion of their rightness and someone else’s wrongness? However, when you heard the other side of the story and got all of the details you realized the first person was actually in the wrong? Have you ever assumed you knew all of the details about an event and then learned more information and had to change your opinions? That is what this proverb warns us of.

We must not be quick to take someone to court thinking we have a clear case that will go in our favor. If we do, we may find ourselves embarrassed when all of the details come out and we are not correct in our original assumptions. It is much better to go directly to the other person and try to work things out rather than drag things out into the public and risk embarrassment and loss of reputation.

---

**If you enjoy reading Shaped by the Word, please consider sharing this post on social media. Doing so helps us reach a larger audience. Thanks for reading!

Follow Shaped by the Word on WordPress or Facebook.