Day 5 of 31
Turn your ear
My son, pay attention to my wisdom. Turn your ear to my understanding,
Talk about it
To turn your ear means to really listen, with your whole self. Wise kids listen first and talk second. When you listen well, you learn things you would have missed.
Try it today
Play a listening game: when someone talks to you today, say back what you heard before you answer.
Ask at dinner
Who is someone you can learn a lot from by listening?
For the grown-up
The rest of chapter 5 is a warning about faithfulness in marriage, best read by grown-ups first; we use only its opening line here. Listening is where every lesson in Proverbs starts (1:8, 4:1, 5:1). Children learn listening by being listened to, so this one works best when the adult goes first.