Proverbs 26

Proverbs 26:17 (NIV)
Like one who seizes a dog by the ears is a passer-by who meddles in a quarrel not his own.

Sometimes I tend to look at the book of Proverbs as God's book of best practices. According to this proverb, the best practice in dealing with issues is to deal with issues that involve you and to not get involved with issues that don't involve you.

If I am not either a part of the problem or a part of the solution and I choose to stick my nose in, then I should seriously consider not getting involved.

For me, an application of this is to not provide council in a situation where I am not directly involved or where I have not been invited to give council. I may have a lot of great thoughts but it's probably best if I keep them to myself unless I directly involved or if someone that is directly involved asks for council.

Of course, as with all Proverbs, they are "best practices" and not blanket guarantees or statements. Wisdom always involves evaluating the situation, seeking God's will and then acting accordingly. If I see someone getting beat up then I am likely going to step into that situation because there is a chance of physical harm. But even in this case the quarrel is not my own but God can still use me to be a part of the solution.

Wisdom is not the same as knowledge. Knowledge involves mostly hard facts while wisdom is more of an art than a science. Wisdom involves listening and evaluation and appropriate action. Knowledge is easy - wisdom is hard. That's why we need God to teach us about wisdom instead of relying on our own knowledge.