Context No. 2806 of 4322 · Sirach

Sirach 11:1-17: in context

1The wisdom of the lowly will lift up his head, and make him sit in the midst of great men. 2Don’t commend a man for his good looks. Don’t abhor a man for his outward appearance. 3The bee is little among flying creatures, but what it produces is the best of confections. 4Don’t boast about the clothes you wear, and don’t exalt yourself in the day of honor; for the Lord’s works are wonderful, and his works are hidden among men. 5Many kings have sat down upon the ground, but one who was never thought of has worn a crown. 6Many mighty men have been greatly disgraced. Men of renown have been delivered into other men’s hands. 7Don’t blame before you investigate. Understand first, and then rebuke. 8Don’t answer before you have heard. Don’t interrupt while someone else is speaking. 9Don’t argue about a matter that doesn’t concern you. Don’t sit with sinners when they judge. 10My son, don’t be busy about many matters; for if you meddle much, you will not be unpunished. If you pursue, you will not overtake, and you will not escape by fleeing. 11There is one who toils, labors, and hurries, and is even more behind. 12There is one who is sluggish, and needs help, lacking in strength, and who abounds in poverty, but the Lord’s eyes looked upon him for good, and he raised him up from his low condition, 13and lifted up his head so that many marveled at him. 14Good things and bad, life and death, poverty and riches, are from the Lord. 17The Lord’s gift remains with the godly. His good pleasure will prosper forever.

Ben Sira strings together a set of warnings against reading the surface of things. The wisdom of the lowly lifts his head to sit among the great. Do not praise a man for his good looks or despise him for his appearance; the bee is small among flying things, but its honey is the sweetest of foods. Many kings have ended sitting on the ground, and someone no one ever noticed has worn a crown.

Again and again he cautions against the snap judgment, the conclusion drawn from appearance, status, or first impression. Do not blame before you investigate; understand first, then rebuke. Do not answer before you have heard the matter out. God's works, he says, are hidden among people; the one who matters is often the one no one was watching. Wisdom is slow to conclude, listening before it corrects and weighing before it praises, because reality so rarely matches its surface.

How often do I judge a person or a situation by its surface, when the truth is hidden and would reward a second, patient look?

Sources

Sirach 11:7: "Don't blame before you investigate. Understand first, and then rebuke."
1 Samuel 16:7: "Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
Proverbs 18:13: "He who answers before he hears, that is folly and shame to him."