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Proverbs 10:19 - Think Before You Speak.Proverbs 10:19 (NKJV) In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, But he who restrains his lips is wise.Proverbs 10:19 (NLT) Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut. COMMENTARY PEARLS Taming the Tongue An Amazing Fact: Walter Mondale, a vice president under Jimmy Carter, ran for president in 1984 against incumbent Ronald Reagan. Upon accepting the Democratic Party nomination for president, he said, "Mr. Reagan will raise taxes, and so will I. He won't tell you. I just did." He proceeded to lose the election by one of the worst Electoral College landslides in history, gaining electoral votes only from Minnesota and the District of Columbia. The United States had a massive budget deficit under the first Reagan administration, and Mr. Mondale pledged to cut it by two-thirds. To do this, he anticipated having to raise taxes. He issued the statement at his nomination in an effort to demonstrate his honesty with the voters, implying that his opponent would not be as honest. However, it was largely understood as a pledge to raise taxes. This was one of the factors that led to his massive defeat. What would have happened if Mr. Mondale had said something different? We will never know. The story only shows us how important it is to carefully consider the words we use and how easy it is for our tongues to get us into trouble! The apostle James has strong words of warning about the danger of having an untamed tongue. He says it is an "unruly evil, full of deadly poison" (James 3:8). Without God's help, we can never tame our tongues, but even converted Christians must be careful. If we turn away from the Lord's guidance for even a moment, our words can harm us in unimaginable ways. When you are tempted to speak rashly, consider saying nothing at all. Silence is often the wisest choice you can make. By holding your tongue, you may spare yourself and others from a lot of pain. [Moving Mountains by Amazing Facts] Economy Of Words. The wise hold their tongues rather than multiplying words. "Proverbs consistently teaches that fewer words are better than many words." Why? The more you say, the more can be used against you (10:14, 13:3). The more you say, the less you get to listen to others and so the less well informed your words will be when you do speak them (18:13). Also, the more you say, the less people will listen to you - they simply won't wade through it all. Then too, people who talk too much appear to be more interested in themselves than in you, and often it is the case. Another reason for keeping words few is that the wiser you are about a subject, the simpler and clearer your explanation. Simplicity lies on the far side of complexity, after we have worked through the issues. IF YOU CAN'T BE BRIEF, YOU MAY NOT KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT THE SUBJECT TO SPEAK ABOUT IT. Finally, controlling our tongue is a way to gain self-control in general (James 3:1-2). If we can master the difficult task of controlling our speech and our desire to pontificate about every subject, then self-control in other areas will be much easier. Do you talk too much? Ask a couple of people who know you well to be frank with you. Lord, I often love to hear myself talk. I can ramble and hold forth but, while occasionally entertaining, that doesn't build people up. Your words are perfect - never a wasted one. I will never be able to imitate that, but give me the self-control and wisdom to make each of my words count. Amen. [God's Wisdom for Navigating Life by Timothy Keller with Kathy Keller re Pro. 10:19, 17:27-28] COMMENTARY All of us know people who are "talkers." They talk non-stop, mostly about trivial things, or about other people; and some are stuck on one topic: themselves. Weary is the word for all those who, for one reason or another, have to listen to such a person. But they are certainly not the only ones who sin with their words! How many things did you say just yesterday that today need to be confessed? Did you exaggerate a story? Did you shade or distort or imply something that you shouldn't have? Did you waste time discussing the trivial or gossiping? The Lord considers wise the one who holds his/her tongue. Begin today to hold yours and take note of the sins uncommitted as a result. [In His Time; Walk With Wisdom] We need a high view of God. Too often when we speak to God in prayer, that is all it is, our speaking. We must discipline ourselves to make our words few, and take time to listen! A definition in Scripture of a fool is that the fool speaks too much. Sometimes in prayer, we make promises to God, as though we can barter with our actions to gain something from God we don't think He would otherwise give us. Don't play the fool. God wants to give us every good thing. If we don't have the good things we want, we need to look at why. There could be many reasons. But we have no right to try and bargain with God. He deserves our right actions and obedience, completely. Besides, we have nothing to bargain with. Believers are slaves, and God holds all their rights! If you are in the habit of bargaining with God, raise your view of Him and cease the practice. And if you don't listen to Him when you pray, begin to do so, today. [In His Time; Walk With Wisdom] ILLUSTRATION My intense, emotional seventeen-year-old scored a public health internship for the summer. I'm thrilled. ... also concerned. She has had enough difficulties that not succeeding would be devastating. But my concerns are mine, not hers. Sharing them is unlikely to do any good. This is my fourth go-round with an almost-adult, and I suspect she would hear my (probably valid) concerns as negative. I have also been made aware I am not omniscient. So stick to my maxim: you can't always make it better, but you can always make it worse. In this case, that means keeping my worries to myself. Parenting is not exactly as I envisioned it in my young-mom days. My fantasy of family life sorely underestimated the extent to which the free will of my offspring, God's will, and my husband's and my strengths and weaknesses would interact. The result is a decidedly mined bag, and I'm only in charge of part of the mix. The good news is that this has forced me to focus on what is in my control. I've had to recognize my hot buttons as mine, to manage my feelings, to concentrate on how to act instead of react. These things have taught me greater patience and fortitude, restraint and humility. All good. So it's not as difficult to restrain myself from voicing my opinions as it might have been a decade ago. If my daughter can pull off the internship, fantastic - I'll be impressed! If she staggers, I will help her find her balance (if she will let me). And if she falls, we will figure things out from there. Dear Jesus, keep my eyes steady on what I can do, rather than on what I can't. Julia Attaway [Walking in Grace 2021 Devotional by Guideposts and Zondervan] PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Active listening makes a worthwhile conversation. Spiritual listening allows us to learn from others. When we talk too much and listen too little, we communicate to others that we think our ideas are much more important than theirs. James wisely advises us to reverse this process. Put a mental stopwatch on your conversations and keep track of how much you talk and how much you listen. When people talk with you, do they feel that their viewpoints and ideas have value? [Life Application SB] Spiritual listening is always followed by action. It is important to listen to what God's Word says, but it is much more important to obey it, to do what it says. We can measure the effectiveness of our Bible study time by the effect it has on our behavior and attitudes. Do you put into action what you have studied? [Life Application SB] Remember that we are not fighting the tongue's fire in our own strength. The Holy Spirit will give us increasing power to monitor and control what we say. As Christians we are not perfect, but we should never stop growing. [Life Application SB] ONE LINERS The classical writer Zeno said, "We have two ears but only one mouth, that we may hear more and speak less." [Barclay Commentary] The righteous speak little, and do much; the wicked speak much, and do nothing. [Bava Metzia] LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY Proverbs 10:19 - Think Before You Speak https://www.abible.com/devotions/2004/20040520-0937.html Proverbs 29:20 - Hasty Speech. https://www.abible.com/devotions/2010/20101210-1152.html Ecclesiastes 5:3 (KJV) For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words. Devotional pending. James 3:8 - We Need Christ For Speech Control. https://www.abible.com/devotions/2022/20220228-0931.html James 1:19 - BEST WAY TO LISTEN. https://www.abible.com/devotions/2023/20231126-0735.html Colossians 4:6 - Speaking with Grace Seasoned with Salt. https://www.abible.com/devotions/2024/20240806-1200.html LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT https://abible.com/links/ |