Proverbs 26:16 · World English Bible
Proverbs 26:16 Meaning The Sluggard Is Wiser in His Own
The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer with discretion.
What does Proverbs 26:16 mean?
The mind unwilling to change trusts its own view above all correction, and the deeper the resistance the surer it grows. It would rather be right in its stillness than be shown a truth that asks it to move, and so it counts its own opinion above every clear reason set before it.
From the Christian Psychology reading below.
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The same verse, read by one tradition.
Christian Psychology
CHRISTIAN PSYCHOLOGY
Christian Psychology
The mind unwilling to change trusts its own view above all correction, and the deeper the resistance the surer it grows. It would rather be right in its stillness than be shown a truth that asks it to move, and so it counts its own opinion above every clear reason set before it. Its certainty measures how firmly it has refused.
The correction is to prize being healed above being right. A mind that guards its perception against all counsel has chosen comfort over truth and named that wisdom, but understanding comes only to what is willing to be taught. What frees it is to hold its conclusions lightly, so a truer sight can enter where certainty once sealed the door.
Sluggard: the mind so unwilling to change that it trusts its own view above all correction, calling refusal wisdom Seven men that can render a reason: the clear truth offered from every side, which self-certainty will not weigh
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Live Proverbs 26:16 today
- Reread something you wrote or decided recently as though a stranger wrote it, looking for the weak part. You will find it faster when your name is not attached.
- Ask someone who knows you well where they think you are off, then just say thank you. No defending, no explaining the context.
- When feedback lands badly in a meeting or an email, wait before you reply. Write the response that assumes they might be right, even if you never send it.
Would I rather be right about this, or free of it?
The same truth in other traditions
Tao Te Ching 22
The one who does not insist on being right is trusted. Bend a little and you stay whole, where rigid things snap.
Zen
A beginner's mind holds many possibilities. An expert's mind holds one, and defends it.
Stoicism · Marcus Aurelius
If anyone can show me that I am wrong, I will gladly change. It is stubbornness and self regard that do the harm, not being corrected.
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