Careful What We Speak

Proverbs 18:13

He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.

Oh, how wonderful it would be if we could all control our tongues. We get angry and say hateful words. We spread gossip. We speak about something when we do not even know what we we are speaking about. I have often made a decision or a statement about a matter based on immediate emotion and realized later I was very wrong. We have probably all been guilty of jumping to conclusions too quickly. We need to wait until we know everything about a matter before we speak on it. That also covers what we speak into someone’s life and the advice, solicited and unsolicited, we offer.

When I was younger, I was very much a follower. When people spoke into my life, I listened and there were times I should not have. Looking back now, I realize that there were times in my life that certain people spoke their opinions about what I should be doing without thought, without consideration that we were very different, without prayer, and really without even considering the implication of their words. And, because they were an authoritative figure to me, I followed, also without thought and prayer. That led to decisions I regret to this day. That is on me for following the wrong voice. But these experiences also made me realize how very careful we must be with the words we speak. When we are a loved, Christian voice who can be sought at times for advice by people we love, we need to realize two things: (1) Even when your advice is sought, do not speak until you have prayed. (2) If you are someone turned to for guidance, your words will be taken seriously even in matters your advice has not been sought in. Do not speak before you pray.

We should all try to get into the habit of not speaking on anything until we pray. There are so many ways our words, even unintentional words, can hurt.