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Sirach 11:8 "Do not answer before you have heard, nor interrupt a speaker in the midst of his words."

 

The practical wisdom of Sirach really doesn't need to be expounded upon. I am grateful for this reminder, since even though I know it is exactly right, I do find myself occasionally answering before I have heard, and interrupting the speaker in order to do so. When I do this, I'm really answering the argument I think the other person is making, or the one I want them to be making, instead of allowing them the respect and courtesy of making the argument they intend to be making. When I listen, and hear, I am sometimes challenged with an argument I did not consider, or facts I did not know. In that way, listening without interrupting is a path to wisdom.