Gary Player the great South African golfer tells the story of playing in a Pro-Am and not playing very well. One of the other players (a run of the mill Pro-Am amateur) offered Gary a little advice on what he thought he was doing wrong. Gary took this advice and played better after that. It may seem strange to us that Gary would accept advice from an amateur and though it is unusual, it reminds us that we can learn something from everyone. It is easy to judge people by outward appearance or social status or by a handicap in golf, but by doing so we limit our capacity to appreciate others and learn from them.

Our author gives the example of a wise yet poor man who had the wisdom to save a city under attack, but no one listened to him because he was poor. The result was the city was taken. We live in a world where we believe strength is the greatest asset, but it is not the case. Military power can only deliver a false sense of victory as is being shown in many of the battles of the Middle East in recent years.

In every family and community there are the quiet ones who don’t say much and need to be encouraged to speak. They often are wiser than the ones who are quick to speak. In all our dealings with people our author encourages us to be open to learn from the unexpected places.

The last verse of our reading for this week mentions how one sinner destroys much good. Its true one bad apple doesn’t destroy the whole bunch, but when we taste a bad apple it can put us off the rest. A bitter taste left in our mouth spoils much more. There are many cases of leaders in all walks of life ruining their career because they overstepped the line in terms of moral behaviour, excessive drinking, erratic behaviour or dangerous driving, to name a few. The wise person is aware of such dangers while the fool crosses the line.

There will have been times when we have all crossed the line, but hopefully we learn from our mistakes and do not repeat them. It is often said that the difference between being wise and a fool is that a fool repeats his mistakes and a wise person learns from them.

By being open to listen to a poor person or someone we may be inclined to dismiss, we may be listening to wisdom that comes from God.

Prayer,  Lord God,  give me an open heart to learn from everyone.  Amen.