I read a couple of interesting quotes today that I would like to share with you tonight. The first: "Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can't, and the other half who have nothing to say and keep on saying it" ~ Robert Frost. Now, let's think about this for a moment. The first part of this quote is something all of us can relate to at different points in our lives. The second part, however, is something we are often guilty of. Yes, I said it. We are guilty of this. Now, for the second quote, while a bit lengthy and the point is the quote at the bottom of the story: In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge in high
esteem. One day an acquaintance met the great philosopher and said, "Do you know what I just heard about your friend?" "Hold on a minute," Socrates replied. "Before telling me anything I'd
like you to pass a little test. It's called the Triple Filter Test."
"Triple filter?"
"That's right," Socrates continued. "Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you're going to say. That's why I call it the triple filter test. The first filter 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 and."
"All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's true or not. Now let's try the second filter, the filter of goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?"
"No, on the contrary..."
"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him, but you're not certain it's true. You may still pass the test though, because there's one filter left: the filter of usefulness. Is what you
want to tell me about my friend 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?"
Did you get that? I found this story very intriguing and quite applicable. My goal in sharing this is not necessarily that you will remember the whole story, but that maybe we all might remember and apply the final quote from Socrates. Sadly, too many people spend too much time remembering the things they are itching to pass along that they just heard, but they NEVER apply the triple filter to whatever it is. I am personally thankful that I have a few people in my life who either apply the triple filter or simply dispel whatever is being said with the truth.
Remember,what we say should be to apply 1 Thessalonians 4:11, "... make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business..." This is basically a Biblical command to do exactly what Socrates told his 'friend'. May we all be busy about the Kingdom and our own business, and less busy about the tearing down of those around us....
esteem. One day an acquaintance met the great philosopher and said, "Do you know what I just heard about your friend?" "Hold on a minute," Socrates replied. "Before telling me anything I'd
like you to pass a little test. It's called the Triple Filter Test."
"Triple filter?"
"That's right," Socrates continued. "Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you're going to say. That's why I call it the triple filter test. The first filter 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 and."
"All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's true or not. Now let's try the second filter, the filter of goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?"
"No, on the contrary..."
"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him, but you're not certain it's true. You may still pass the test though, because there's one filter left: the filter of usefulness. Is what you
want to tell me about my friend 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?"
Did you get that? I found this story very intriguing and quite applicable. My goal in sharing this is not necessarily that you will remember the whole story, but that maybe we all might remember and apply the final quote from Socrates. Sadly, too many people spend too much time remembering the things they are itching to pass along that they just heard, but they NEVER apply the triple filter to whatever it is. I am personally thankful that I have a few people in my life who either apply the triple filter or simply dispel whatever is being said with the truth.
Remember,what we say should be to apply 1 Thessalonians 4:11, "... make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business..." This is basically a Biblical command to do exactly what Socrates told his 'friend'. May we all be busy about the Kingdom and our own business, and less busy about the tearing down of those around us....