07/25/2018
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Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding. – Proverbs 17:28
Once
an elderly minister I was speaking with quoted Abraham Lincoln as
saying, “’Tis better to be silent and be thought
a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.” The gentleman who
quoted this was, in my estimation, the epitome of wisdom, never saying a
word out of
turn. When he spoke, it was always with good thoughts.
Learning when to speak and
when not to speak must be a lifelong seminar! I have spoken too quickly
enough times to know that the results of unfiltered
speech cannot be erased from the listener’s memory. Sometimes we
receive feedback immediately, and at other times there is a time lag
before we figure
out how hasty we were. Applying the principle that reminds us to
hesitate before speaking, and breathe a prayer in the difficult times,
can really
save us from problems down the road.
In a recent conversation
with one of my children, my opinion was quite different from a teenage
point of view. Although my point may have been right, I
said more than I meant to, coming on too strong. The end result was
that, a little later, I made an apology in an attempt to maintain our
good relationship.
The Lord will guide us in
our responses if we can school ourselves to hesitate long enough to ask
Him for the words we need, or for the wisdom to remain
silent. Hopefully I have learned some discretion from my latest
quick response. I am sure that as I continue down life’s pathway, I’ll
soon have another
opportunity to try this newfound wisdom, and with God’s help, I will
have made progress.
Dear Lord, help me to learn the wisdom of the right words to say and the right time for silence.
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