A major factor in wisdom is timing. What can be a godly act one day in one situation may be grievous folly another. Some situations call for tact and biding your tongue. Other call for boldness and a determination to challenge sin openly. Even kind words can be uttered at the wrong time. No wonder God’s word urges us to pray for wisdom! We need to think before we act, where appropriate seek the counsel of others, and generally realise how easy it is for us to put our foot in it!
All this is illustrated clearly in the following parable. Surely its point is not just to urge us not to wake our neighbours early with a loud blessing! The point is to use an obvious example to teach us a general principle which goes way beyond this specific case.
Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice,
rising early in the morning,
will be counted as cursing. (Proverbs 27:14)
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