He
who restrains his words has knowledge,
And he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
And he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
Proverbs 17:27 New American Standard
Bible (NASB)
Our words have great power;
to heal or to destroy, to inform or to ruin. It can be tempting to think that
we should speak what we know, why hold back? But the Bible makes it clear that
that is not wise. On the contrary, it is wise to limit what we say, to make
sure we listen carefully first to understand what is right and true. If we are
quick to spout off everything we know, it makes us look foolish. Even idiots
seem wise if they keep their mouths shut. Our knowledge and wisdom is evident
in how we use our words, if we are careful with them and not arrogantly
throwing words around. This is connected to our tempers; if we are quick to
spout off our words we are probably easily angered as well. And some think we
should make our feelings evident to everyone, but again the Bible says that we
should not do that. If we are quick to anger we are foolish and arrogant and
likely to hurt others. Those who are not easily angered, who are cool and
collected, are said to have understanding, not those who spew their emotions on
the world. If we let our emotions spout out without thinking or self-control,
we are only thinking of ourselves and not about how our actions will affect
others. A person of understanding and wisdom considers others and does what is
best for all, not for self, having self-control and rational calmness. Are you
a person of self-control or do you let your words and emotions run wild? What
do you need to do to restrain them?
No comments:
Post a Comment