Gold Nugget
Verse
19: "In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, But he
who restrains his lips is wise.”
Commentary
Once while on a conference call, a coworker and I were having a very important discussion with a potential client. Being
more seasoned on the particular topic, I knew that we needed to gather some
very important information from them. Unfortunately, my partner was
talking so much that he would actually interrupt the client while
they were trying to give us the information we needed. He tried so hard to impress them with his
knowledge that he revealed his lack of knowledge. He didn't know of course, but
he talked us right out of a job that we had in the bag. They assumed we knew
the field and was actually trying to give us the necessary information to seal
the deal. All the while, he continued to try and impress them with a "multitude of words". I tried
to signal him to stop talking and listen, but he just gave me an "I got
this" look and continued his performance.
Another Proverbs says "Even a fool is counted wise when he
holds his peace; when he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive."
Proverbs 17:28 I have actually assumed certain people to be
wise or intelligent because of their ability to hold their tongue, only to find
out later that the person was not especially wise or exceptionally intelligent. The old saying, "Better to keep your mouth closed and be thought
a fool than to open it and remove all doubt", was just
borrowed from Proverbs. Had my partner just "slowed his roll"; we
would have had that job.
Prayer
Lord, remind me of the value of keeping
silent. I want to exhibit the self control that it takes to hold my
tongue and avoid the cost of not being able to hold it. I want to avoid the
dangers and damage that comes from having a mouth that doesn't know when to
shut down. Amen
If you
are reading this devotional in an e-mail and would like to post a comment,
click on this link http://proverbfortoday.org/
No comments:
Post a Comment