Shhhhhhh!

"When one will not, two cannot quarrel."

-Anonymous

"In an argument the best weapon is to hold your tongue."

-Anonymous

"People who know the least always argue the most."

-Anonymous

"If you keep your mouth shut, you will stay out of trouble."

-Proverbs 21:23 NLT

"Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles."

-Proverbs 21:23 NKJV

Here we go again!

If there's an overriding message in Proverbs, it's "Keep your mouth shut!" Literally! God keeps pounding this subject into our sometimes thick skulls. It must be extremely important.

The title of Proverbs itself suggest that few words are better than many. From what I understand, the word Proverbs comes from two Latin words, pro and verba, meaning "instead of many words." Hmmm! Sounds like some excellent scriptural advice to me.

I remember a classmate in my high school and remember him mostly for two things: He was always "mouthing off" and he was always getting beat up. He would get off the school bus and have to run home or get beat up at the bus stop. Sometimes he got caught! I often thought, "Why doesn't he just keep his mouth shut?" Life would have been a whole lot easier for him and he would have better memories of his high school years. If he's still alive today (and I doubt it) he's probably still beaten up from time to time. If he's dead, I can see his tombstone now:

Here he lies

In his coffin

Opened his mouth

Once too often!

People actually do get killed for things they say! Plus, those who possess loose tongues also harvest bountiful crops of enemies, anger, strife, alienation, bitterness, road rage, and the list goes on and on. When God authored, "If you keep your mouth shut, you will stay out of trouble." he was giving strong and accurate advice for his children.

If we didn't talk as much we would most likely listen much more. Have you ever been with a person who has an answer for everything? Or at least a comment? Even when they are not the person being asked they still have the answer!

If we didn't talk as much we would certainly learn more. It's amazing what we learn when we listen. Sometimes when we talk too much it only reveals what we don't know.

If we didn't talk as much we'd have more friends. I have some great friends with whom I can be silent. We communicate without words. Why is it we think we have to fill our fellowship and friendship time with words to make it more valuable?

If we didn't talk as much we would better know the heart of God. Remember Elijah back in 1 Kings 19? He had just toasted the beef with a fiery demonstration on Mount Carmal, killed the prophets of Baal, prayed down rain, and outran Ahab's chariot back to Jezreel. In verse 3, after all God had done, "Elijah was afraid . . . " Elijah attended his own pity party and did a forty day trip to Mount Sinai to meet with God.

"And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave" (1 Kings 19:11-13).

God often whispers but we don't hear him because we are so busy talking. Listen . . . listen . . . listen. We must learn to sneak away and hide out in the quiet places so we can hear the gentle whispers of God.

Last but not least, if we didn't talk as much we'd certainly have fewer problems. What a great and easy solution to avoid trouble: Keep your mouth shut. So simple!

Some wise advice about our talk (or lack of it) for today:

1. Think twice before speaking once!

2. If you can't write it on paper and sign it, don't say it!

3. Thinking about what you want to say, ask yourself, "Is it kind, is it necessary, is it true?" If you cannot honestly answer yes to all three questions, don't say it. Sometimes, even if all three answers are yes, it shouldn't be said. Go back to number 1.

Remember . . . Your walk talks and your talk talks but your walk talks more than your talk talks!

Walking is healthier too.

Just hush!