PROVERBS 10:19 – When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.

THEME OF THE DAY. BE A PERSON OF FEW WORDS. It is a source of tremendous blessing. And it is also the most deadly weapon in all the world. It has the ability to do indescribable and lasting damage to a person. I am talking about our tongue, or really, our speech. King Solomon gives us some very wise counsel in the area of our speech or use of our tongues. He wrote, “When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.” We may paraphrase his words like this, “If you want to have the last word in a conversation; if you just have to say something when dialoguing with someone; if you want to have the unenviable reputation as a person who just talks and talks and talks, okay, but beware . . . the more you talk, the more you open yourself up for a whole lot of sin.”

Speech is one of the many wonderful gifts God gives us. As I mentioned in the opening, it has great potential to be so encouraging and helpful in our lives. Who doesn’t like to be around people whose speech uplifts and puts a “spring in our steps” by their words? When Jesus walked upon the earth, He was known as a man of “gracious words” (Luke 4:22). However, there is a dark side to our speech too. We may cut people to pieces with just a word. Again from King Solomon, “There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts . . .” (Proverbs 12:18a). The landscape is filled with severely damaged relationships in marriages, friendships, and even in our churches because of the “sword thrust” to the heart of someone by hasty, hurtful words. But God has not left us without help in the battle for wholesome speech. If we are prone to be a talkative person, who may easily dominate a conversation, remember four things.

First, God gave us two ears and one mouth indicating we should listen more and talk less. In today’s scripture, notice how Solomon defines a “prudent” person – whoever restrains his lips. To be “prudent” is to be a person of wise understanding, discerning, and able to comprehend. This is a mark of maturity. And to restrain one’s lips means two things. One, we don’t have to voice an opinion in every conversation. Next, to be prudent means when we do offer an opinion, it is based on truth and facts, not third party information or worse, biased assumptions. Many relationships are in ruins because people said or repeated something without complete information and facts. This is called the sin of gossip. Remember, one tongue, two ears. Listen more than talk.

Next, remember these serious words of Jesus, “Man shall give an account for every idle word they speak” (Matthew 12:36). That applies to believers too. This warning should be enough for us to constantly pray for God to control our tongues and put a clamp on our speech when tempted to say too much or something hurtful.

A third thing to remember is the more we talk, the more prone we are to sin with our tongues. Go back and chew over Solomon’s words in the opening of today’s scripture. More words, more opportunities for sin. One of the best reputations we may have is being a person of few, but gracious words. Talk a lot and sin is ready to flow from that talk.

Finally, heed the words of the Apostle James about controlling our speech. He writes, “No person can tame the tongue” (James 3:8). He didn’t say “some people have better control of their speech.” No, he means “no human has the ability to control their speech.” The application for this is clear. If we are not tongue-controlled by the Lord, we are going to say too much, say the wrong things, and cause damage to someone in some fashion by our speech.

Our tongues will either be a blessing or curse in the lives of those with whom we verbally interact. And God has promised sufficient grace to make them the former, not the latter. Let’s strive to stay close to Christ and ensure our words are like His – gracious words that build up.

PRAYER: “Lord, help me to be wise and prudent in my speech which means I listen more and speak less.”

QUOTE: “If we are prone to be a talkative person, be aware that the tongue is uncontrollable by any human.”