🙏Weekly Devotion September 1st, 2026
Fjeldberg – Devotion for September 1st, 2026
READ (Proverbs 18:2)
A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing their opinion.
REFLECT
I was recently out to dinner with a work colleague, and before the conversation had really even begun, I had already made some assumptions about who I thought this person was. I thought surely they believed this or that, and I found myself carefully choosing my words based on a version of this person I had created in my own mind.
Then I caught myself.
I wasn’t trying to understand this person. I was judging them before giving them the opportunity to simply be themselves.
Once I let my guard down and became genuinely curious, the conversation changed. We listened to one another, found common ground, and had a wonderful evening. We didn’t have to agree on everything. There was no need to sort one another into “this” group or “that” group. Instead, there was mutual respect for each other and for the experiences and beliefs we each brought to the table.
Proverbs remind us that there is a difference between listening so we can respond and listening so we can understand. It is easy to enter a conversation ready to defend our own opinions. It takes humility to become curious—to ask questions, listen carefully, and allow another person to challenge the assumptions we have made about them.
Perhaps we could all use a little more curiosity before deciding who someone is, take the time to get to know them. We may discover that there is far more that connects us than we assumed.
PRAY
Lord God, it is so easy for us to place people into categories before we truly know them. Forgive us when our assumptions prevent us from listening, understanding, and seeing others as You see them. Help us to replace judgment with curiosity, defensiveness with humility, and division with mutual respect. Give us the patience to listen before we speak and the wisdom to seek understanding even when we disagree. In Your name we pray, Amen.
Devotions by Justin P.