Two Sides to the Story

The one who states his case first seems right,
until the other comes and examines him.
-Proverbs 18:17 (English Standard Version)

One of my favorite channels in the States is Court TV. I usually end up trying to follow some type of high profile murder case when I’m home.

It’s really fascinating to watch the opening arguments of a murder trial. The prosecution goes first, presenting their evidence against the accused. Once they are finished, it seems 100% certain that the defendant is guilty. The defending lawyers, however, have a way of changing that. The defense often challenges all of the prosecutor’s evidence piece by piece. Suddenly you are not so sure if the man on trial is guilty.

Things haven’t changed that much since Proverbs was written. Proverbs are often just simple, wise observations that we can apply to our life.

Court TV is not the only place that we can see Proverbs 18:17 at work. I’ve seen this principle in many different types of personal conflicts. How many of us have sided with someone, only to learn that the other person had an equally valid point? How many times have we failed to see the other person’s point of view?

Of course there are times when one person/side is clearly wrong. There are times when someone has clearly sinned and deserves most or all of the blame. My experience, however, is that this is rare. Normally when there is a conflict, both sides share in the blame.

It is incredibly difficult to be objective and look at something without bias. Although it is difficult, we must try to do this in order to make wise decisions. If there is a conflict, try to hear both sides of the story. Don’t be too quick to fight for someone’s cause—you may later realize that there’s more to the story. Try to see the other side.