Part of my daily time reading the Bible is spent reading the One Year Bible. A couple of days ago (April 7th), the Proverbs section included Proverbs 12:23
A prudent man keeps his knowledge to himself, but the heart of fools blurts out folly.
This one hit me hard. There have been a number of times in the past few weeks that I have found myself “blurting out folly”. I am, for the most part, fairly careful with my speech. But there are times, when conversation is flowing, that I say things and immediately think, “I shouldn’t have said that.” Whether it is a “morsel” of gossip, or an “I can top that” story, I often know right away that I should have kept my mouth shut. Sometimes I do the right thing and I immediately apologize and indicate that I should not have said what I did, but often I just let it pass.
I suppose the real lesson is to talk less and listen more, that would probably be better for both me and for those who are talking to me.
I always appreciate it when God “gets through to me” like that. Hopefully that verse will come to mind when I need it most.
