Wednesday Wisdom | The Wisdom of Leaving Things Alone

Friends, lately I’ve been thinking about how much noise we make and not just literal noise, although there’s plenty of that.

We build roads. Clear land. Cut down trees. Put up buildings. Turn on lights. Run engines. Play music. Talk, talk, and talk some more.

We enter places that were already functioning just fine without us and without realizing it, we disturb the balance that was there.

Nature has a way of reminding us of this. A quiet patch of woods doesn’t need us to improve it. A bird doesn’t need us to interrupt its song. Deer don’t need us to chase them for a better look.

Sometimes the best thing we can do is leave things undisturbed.

Maybe that’s true of people, too.

We don’t always need to fix someone or offer them advice. We don’t always need to fill the silence. We don’t always need to insert ourselves into someone else’s story.

Sometimes love looks like giving someone space.

a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

Ecclesiastes‬ ‭3‬:‭7‬ ‭ESV‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/59/ecc.3.7.ESV

Over the years, I’ve learned that wisdom looks like knowing when to speak and when to be quiet.

Faith means trusting God enough to recognize that He is already at work without our interference.

That doesn’t mean we become passive or indifferent.

However, it does mean we learn the difference between helping and interfering, caring and controlling, and being present versus being intrusive.

One of the quietest forms of wisdom is simply knowing when to leave things alone. After all, not every place needs our footprint.

Sometimes the most loving thing we can do is simply be there without disturbing what’s already there.

Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

Proverbs‬ ‭17‬:‭27‬ ‭ESV‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/59/pro.17.27.ESV