Proverbs 11:12 Commentary and Bible Study

But does Solomon offer any advice to show us how we may achieve kindly, helpful attitudes in our relationships in the church? He certainly does in these next two proverbs.The first man in this proverb despises his neighbour. What does it take to make him do this? Not much, apparently. Observing him, you might be amazed to see how easily he can turn against his neighbour. He is so quick to judge that you say, ‘Either this man has phenomenal powers of judgment, or else he is very hasty.’ He will make such sweeping judgments on the basis of so few facts, and be sure he is justified in condemning others at a glance. He sees a fault in his neighbour and hates him as if that fault was all that was true of that person; he is incapable of saying, ‘That was out of character.’ Imagine him at work, at his place of business. What a foolish attitude for him to adopt, because he may have to work with the colleague he detests for the next twenty years, and for the sake of one fault, or because he does not like the shape of his nose, or his background, or his accent, or some such thing, he intends to make both their lives a misery every working day. The unintelligent man cannot for the life of him see a fault in the context of the whole person and his ways. We see this sometimes in children. They may go through phases of deep dislike for another child. The 'playground feud' is very familiar. Some child has done something which another does not like, and the offender is therefore to be detested. In a child, the mood will probably pass, but in an adult it may last a lifetime.By contrast, a man of understanding realises there is more to others than he sees at first. When tempted to detest or despise someone, the person of understanding holds his peace, but there is real mental activity undergirding that peace. He takes a calmer attitude because his mind is working. He is aware of his tendency to make rash judgments, and he therefore holds back until he has seen more. He aims if possible to live at peace with all, and does not get pleasure out of condemning others. Although he believes God’s word that the whole world lies in wickedness, this does not lead to bias and prejudice, but to a right evaluation of things.