First and Second

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

FIRST AND SECOND

Prov 18:17

17 The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him.

NIV

It seems most of our scholars of old are convinced this speaks of the court of law. It would appear that a witness gives testimony that seems to be the facts of the case until the opposing attorney cross examines the testimony of the witness and in so shows the falseness of it. But that is so sterile, so non personal or gives no insight into either correcting, rebuking, teaching or training in righteousness. We know from our studies that all scripture is God-breathed and is for one or all of those purposes in the lives of believers. If this only applies to cases in court or matters of law, how often do we find ourselves having to apply this truth? What if this speaks to our everyday lives in the words we speak on a regular basis? Of course we would also think of the truth that iron sharpens iron which Solomon will give that truth later in the 27^th chapter. When we make a statement about the truth of God and believe we have the facts of it, we are then made aware by another our facts could be seen in another light, or in essence we could be wrong in our interpretation. This certainly applies in our daily lives as well. Whoever speaks first might well believe they are speaking the truth of a matter until someone else speaks and we find we did not understand the truth of the matter as we thought. This gives us cause not to be hasty in our speaking. It might also give us a reason to research all the information we can before expounding on a subject. It may well be said it is better to be a man of few words then one who uses more than needed. On the other hand we might be the second speaker making corrections to a misunderstanding of the truth. This would need to be applied with love, rather than with harshness or an overbearing prideful spirit. It also shows us there could be many times when two sides of a story, situation, or truth of God are seen. When we are alone, it would be fair to say we only see one side of those things and believe that side is right. But when we are in a community whether secular or spiritual, several sides emerge. It is in those times we need be aware of others and be open to their expression, or belief or side of the story, situation or truth of God. Open discussion often brings us to the real story, which is that iron sharpening iron concept. We should not be so entrenched in our understanding that we are not open to new or different thoughts. This is where that correcting, rebuking, teaching and training in righteousness could happen. If we never speak of such topics with others then we will always be sitting in our own pew, or own thoughts, our own beliefs which could be seen as being without growth. So let us speak first and second, but with respect, honor and love.