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Listen before Answering
Answering before hearing is called folly and shame. Wisdom seeks knowledge, allows testimony to be tested by another side, and recognizes that conflicts can harden like fortress bars; careful listening is therefore not politeness alone but a safeguard for judgment and relationship.
Proverbs calls answering before hearing folly and shame; James commands believers to be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath. The shared wisdom ethic makes careful listening a prerequisite for righteous response.
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