In ancient Greece (469 - 399 BC), Socrates was widely lauded for his wisdom. One day the great philosopher came upon an acquaintance who ran up to him excitedly and said, "Socrates, do you know what I just heard about one of your students?"
"Wait a moment," Socrates replied. "Before you tell me I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Test of Three."
"Test of Three?"
"That's right," Socrates continued. "Before you talk to me about my student let's take a moment to test what you're going to say. The first test is Truth.
Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"
"No," the man said, "actually I just heard about It."
"All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's true or not.
Now let's try the second test, the test of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my student something good?"
"No, on the contrary..." "So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him even though you're not certain it's true?" The man shrugged, a little embarrassed.
Socrates continued. "You may still pass though, because there is a third test - the filter of Usefulness.
Is what you want to tell me about my student going to be useful to me?"
"No, not really."
"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither True nor Good nor even Useful, why tell it to me at all?" The man was defeated and ashamed.
This is the reason Socrates was a great philosopher and held in such high esteem.
Sometimes, we tend to hear things about other people from others, but that is exactly why we need to know which voice to listen to: the Good, the Bad, or the Ugly. There will be times when even the closest people to us will tend to hurt us, whether intentionally or unintentionally, but if the relationship/friendship has been built on strong, unshakable trust, then it is definitely worth saving! Unless proven otherwise, give each one a chance to voice his or her opinions before passing judgment. Everyone deserves a second chance at something, and this can be seen more clearly by Christ's obedient act more than 2000 years ago.We did not deserve Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross, but it is by Grace we have been saved! We have inevitably been given... a second chance... our God is the God of Second Chances!
Jesus, help me to make the right decisions in life, especially when it involves the many people I cherish and love. Help me to open up my ears to what is true, to what is good, and to what is useful, both for myself and for Your kingdom. Help me to seek Your will in everything I do and glorify Your name!
"Wait a moment," Socrates replied. "Before you tell me I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Test of Three."
"Test of Three?"
"That's right," Socrates continued. "Before you talk to me about my student let's take a moment to test what you're going to say. The first test is Truth.
Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"
"No," the man said, "actually I just heard about It."
"All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's true or not.
Now let's try the second test, the test of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my student something good?"
"No, on the contrary..." "So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him even though you're not certain it's true?" The man shrugged, a little embarrassed.
Socrates continued. "You may still pass though, because there is a third test - the filter of Usefulness.
Is what you want to tell me about my student going to be useful to me?"
"No, not really."
"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither True nor Good nor even Useful, why tell it to me at all?" The man was defeated and ashamed.
This is the reason Socrates was a great philosopher and held in such high esteem.
===============================================
Sometimes, we tend to hear things about other people from others, but that is exactly why we need to know which voice to listen to: the Good, the Bad, or the Ugly. There will be times when even the closest people to us will tend to hurt us, whether intentionally or unintentionally, but if the relationship/friendship has been built on strong, unshakable trust, then it is definitely worth saving! Unless proven otherwise, give each one a chance to voice his or her opinions before passing judgment. Everyone deserves a second chance at something, and this can be seen more clearly by Christ's obedient act more than 2000 years ago.We did not deserve Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross, but it is by Grace we have been saved! We have inevitably been given... a second chance... our God is the God of Second Chances!
Jesus, help me to make the right decisions in life, especially when it involves the many people I cherish and love. Help me to open up my ears to what is true, to what is good, and to what is useful, both for myself and for Your kingdom. Help me to seek Your will in everything I do and glorify Your name!
~Tim~
1 comment:
My friend and I were recently talking about how modern society has evolved to become so integrated with technology. Reading this post makes me think back to that discussion we had, and just how inseparable from electronics we have all become.
I don't mean this in a bad way, of course! Ethical concerns aside... I just hope that as memory gets cheaper, the possibility of uploading our brains onto a digital medium becomes a true reality. It's one of the things I really wish I could experience in my lifetime.
(Posted on Nintendo DS running [url=http://cryst4lxbands.sosblog.com/-b/Will-the-R4-or-R4i-work-b1-p2.htm]r4i dsi[/url] DS NetSurf)
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