When the Truth Comes Out

Daily Devotional – Tuesday, January 30, 2024
The first one to plead his cause seems right until his neighbor comes and examines him.
Proverbs 18:17 (NKJV)

If you went to Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya’s founding president, with negative information about another person, the statesman would listen and then ask you to wait. Without informing you, he would inform the person you were accusing to come over. Once the three of you were together, Mzee would ask you to narrate your story in the presence of your rival.

Until His Neighbor Comes and Examines Him

Mzee must have been a keen student of King Solomon’s counsel in Proverbs 18:17, which holds, “The first one to plead his cause seems right until his neighbor comes and examines him.” It is easy to accept the accusations of the person who arrives first, but it requires divine wisdom to defer judgment until you hear out the accused person.

Human nature tends towards self-preservation. Even when we are wrong, we want to portray ourselves as being on the right. It behoves the arbitrator, therefore, to allow the other person to plead their case. That is what happens in secular courts of law. Before the judge reaches a verdict, she must prove that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

When the Truth Comes Out

It is interesting to see whether the accuser will be comfortable repeating the accusations in front of the alleged perpetrator. In the case of Mzee Kenyatta, the first person to plead the case would be tongue-tied and fail to repeat the allegations, according to the handlers of the late statesman.

As believers, we will often find ourselves in situations where we must arbitrate in conflicts. Then we must ask God for wisdom and patience to listen to either side of the conflict in order to reach a verdict that builds relationships instead of escalating tension. Indeed, when the truth comes out, it might as well be that the first report was not the truthful one.

Prayer
Dear God, whenever I am called upon to manage a conflict, help me to defer judgment until I have listened to both sides of the divide.