Getting Put to Shame Prov. 25: 8-10 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

A sure fire way to get put to shame is to refuse to hear the good counsel of these verses.

In verse 8 you go to a fellow half-cocked and mad and strive with him over something you suspect to be true but you don’t have enough information to even start an argument with him – he sheds more light on the subject than you can handle and you come away looking like a fool in your own eyes, his eyes and anyone else’s eyes who saw you.

In verses 9-10 you have a cause against somebody – instead of going to him, you spread it around to other folks – it was something they didn’t know so it was a secret – all of a sudden you get to somebody who knows more about the situation than you do and he straightens you out but good on the matter – now you look like a fool to everyone you have told and all those whom they have told because you could have solved the whole problem by going directly to the fellow against whom you had the cause – you should have handled everything directly with him and no one would have found out anything – you wouldn’t have been guilty of spreading a false rumor.

Admonitions from the Bible show the trouble with getting put to shame stems from:

Pride – 2 Ki 14:7-14 the king of Judah whipped Edom so he thought he could whip Israel.

Hasty words – Prov 29:20 – you start talking before you know what you are talking about.

Quick temper – Ecc 7:9 – you get mad over something that you shouldn’t have gotten mad about.

Disobedience – Matt 18:15 – even if you are afraid to “confront” him you need to do it.

Ignorance of the facts – Jud 11:12-28 – the king should have listened to Jephthah’s knowledge of the true history of Israel’s possession of the land.