WE SHOULD THINK BEFORE WE SPEAK

Proclamation:

"He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin."  Proverbs 13:3 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words of King Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, were written under the inspiration of The Holy Spirit of God 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.  Harsh and rash words will not produce anything good.  Those who refuse to engage their brain before they speak will do more harm than good.  They will usually end up creating a far worse situation by speaking without first thinking.

Application:

There is a very familiar and popular quote which says, "Think before you speak." (Unknown)  We should engage our brain before we engage our mouth.  Most of us would be better off if we would put this into practice.  However, there is another quote based upon a similar principal which takes this to a somewhat higher level.  “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)  As believers 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 of the things that we say just do not need to be said.  We need to pray and ask God to help us control our words and our thoughts as well as our behavior.