January 9, 2018

Carefully Consider Your Words

Those who guard their lips preserve their lives, but those who speak rashly will come to ruin. – Proverbs 13:3

She is one of the nicest people you could ever meet. I’m sure she would be glad to help others if she could. She is faithful to attend church and class. She is quick to laugh.

Except. You knew that was coming, didn’t you? She never stops talking. Ever. She cuts people off during discussions. Every comment someone makes she has something about herself to add. She is oblivious.

I don’t understand that. She readily admits people have at times told her to shut up. That I can understand. I’m just surprised she heard it because she sure didn’t learn from it.

I tell myself that she is lonely. Her husband works and her children are grown and live elsewhere. She stays at home alone so when she comes to class it is natural that she wants to talk. And talk. And talk. She can’t understand that her lack of friends is directly related to her inability to quiet her own tongue and listen to someone else.

She provides an important lesson to all of us. As the cliché goes, God gave us all one tongue and two ears so that we would listen twice as much as we speak.

How many times have I spoke when I should have listened? How many times did my friends need a supporting “ear” and I instead gave them my opinion? How many times have I spoken a truth that didn’t have the whole story?

What about you? I’m not alone here. I really think it’s almost impossible to live a life and not look back at times and regret words spoken that should have been kept inside.

That’s the thing about words. We can never unsay them. They can cut a heart into a million pieces. They can cause wounds that never heal. They can spread lies in such a way that the truth can never be restored.

It’s easy to say “I forgive you” for the words. It’s not so easy to erase the brain’s recorder that replays the hurt again and again and again. It just never goes away.

Measure your words carefully. When in doubt, remain silent. Remember to listen at least twice as much as you speak. Words are powerful weapons. Use them wisely.