Don’t take the thought and say it.
Anonymous
I’ve learned, and I keep learning, to keep my mouth shut. Not everyone needs to hear what I think; sometimes I don’t even need to hear what I think. My thoughts can swing from one extreme to another from moment to moment. Before I had acquired a bit of wisdom (this is a fancy way of saying when I was young and inexperienced), I didn’t think much about the importance of my words. I was quick to give my opinion. And I was quick to say what I thought could be done better. I was also quick to form an opinion. I didn’t really think about the ripple effect that my words would have on my life.
We can’t take them back
There’s much to be said for (pun intended) keeping our mouths shut. When words have been spoken, it’s impossible to “take them back.” As children, we would play games or tease one another, and when something was said that went too far and merited tattling, we would cry, “I take it back!” Depending on how many times you “took back,” your words affected the chance of being tattled on. In the real world, we can’t take back what we’ve said.
"In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, But he who restrains his lips is wise." Proverbs 10:19 NKJV
But I’m right
“But I’m right!” you might think. Being right doesn’t necessarily mean it needs saying. I know that I’ve wanted to prove my rightness many times. But I’ve learned that I don’t have to say that I’m right every time. Insisting that I’m right, as I’ve come to find out, can escalate quickly into an argument. And, as my mother used to say, “If you’re going to argue, make sure it’s something worth arguing over.” In the long run, there’s not much worth arguing over with our loved ones, or anyone else, for that matter.
God uses it all even when we don’t keep our mouths shut
Jacob’s son, Joseph, was a young man who had dreams. You can read an account of his dreams in Genesis 37. He had 11 siblings and was his father’s obvious favorite. In Genesis 37, he felt it was necessary to tell his brothers and father about his dreams. This might have been an innocent enough account if the dream had been about food or games. But Joseph’s dreams were about his brothers and parents bowing to him. His brothers already had a problem with him because his father favored him. Telling them about these dreams simply stirred their animosity towards him.
The brothers were so fed up with Joseph’s apparent boasting that they devised a plan to get rid of him. They sold him as a slave to traders traveling to Egypt. I wonder if, had Joseph kept his mouth shut, the unfolding of his story would have been different. Yes, I know what you’re thinking—that God used the situation for His purposes. However, God uses all of our good and bad decisions for His good.
Nowadays, I keep my mouth shut
What kinds of grief can we avoid if we can just learn to keep our mouths shut? Maybe we would get to the point of God’s purpose quickly rather than the long way around, like the nation of Israel.
When Israel was in the wilderness traveling to the Promised Land after they had left Egypt, they had a problem with their collective mouth. Their litany of complaints led to their wandering for 40 years in the wilderness instead of entering it directly after leaving Egypt (see Joshua 5). Had they kept their mouths shut, instead of wandering around homeless for 40 years, they could have entered the land sooner.
I’m not taking the thought and saying it so quickly any more, as I’m certain that, in the past, my words have been my own undoing. Nowadays, I keep my mouth shut.
"Dear brothers, don’t ever forget that it is best to listen much, speak little, and not become angry;" James 1:19 TLB
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