"He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin." Proverbs 13:3 (NIV)
These words of King Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, were written to the people of God to share his insights on human behavior and how believers should conduct themselves. His point here was that believers should control their tongue, and not speak everything they think. Those who do not engage their brain before they speak, will end up worse off for doing so.
There is a very familiar and popular quote which says, "Think before you speak." (Unknown) Most of us would be better off it we would practice this. However, there is another quote which says, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." (Thumper, the rabbit, in the Disney animated film entitled "Bambi") (He may not be the original author, but that was the first time that I heard it) Before we speak, we should ask ourselves these three questions. One, is it truthful? Two, is it helpful? Three, is it kind? If what we were going to say is untruthful, we should forget it. If it is not going to help the person, or the situation, we should keep it to ourselves. If it is not kind, or is insensitive, it is better left unsaid. We should always let our speech be filled with the grace of God. (Colossians 4:6) Some things just do not need to be said.
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