1 Corinthains 8:1b

Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.

C.S. Lewis, in the book The Screwtape Letters, speaks of the type of person who probably does not know about this verse: "She's the sort of woman who lives for others, you can tell the others by their hunted expression." That is funny, but it happens when we focus on communicating to people how much we know about their problems instead of just simply encouraging them.

Experts say that communication is only 10% verbal, which conveys what we know, and the rest is tone and body language, which conveys how we feel. This supports the concept of this verse, that what we can teach people is not as valuable as how much we care about them. When we are presented with somebody's vulnerability, we do have an opportunity to make ourselves feel important and needed, but if we can resist that temptation, we also have an opportunity for a much greater blessing, which is to show someone that we care about them.