“Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent and discerning if they hold their tongues.” (Proverbs 17:28)
Discernment - perception in the absence of judgment with a view to obtaining spiritual direction and understanding.
Perception - the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses; intuitive understanding and insight.
You can find out a lot about an individual every time they open their mouth to talk. You can tell if they are humble, boastful, reasonably intelligent, downright dumb or simply ignorant. If a person measures their words carefully before they speak, especially around those they don’t know, it can go much better for them. People judge others. We all do. It seems to be part of who we are. I do it and you know you do too. We judge others by their appearance, by the way they carry themselves, by the way they talk and by what they say. If we determine that they are a certain type of person based on these factors we would be wrong. Who are we to do such a thing? I struggle with this very much. I am working on it or should I say, I have been asking the Holy Spirit to make an alteration in my thought processes, words and actions towards others. The change doesn’t need to come in those we have determined to be faulty or abnormal in some way; then change must come from within us. We have to first have the ‘want to’ to make any significant change in the way we are towards others; all others.
Having said the above, it should also be stated that we must be as wise as serpents and gentle as doves regarding others. Talk is meaningless without subsequent actions. People can say anything. There is a man in the neighborhood who recounts all sorts of exploits from Viet Nam in great detail, leading his listeners to believe he is a war veteran; however, nothing could be further from the truth. He is in fact a pathological liar who was never even in the service. One must be careful of people such as this. They are the living, breathing examples of what Solomon is speaking about. It is quite literally true that a deaf mute could be seen as a wise man in a room full of people if he simply smiled and nodded his head. He has said nothing to offend; in effect, he hasn’t tipped his hand one way or the other.
Be led by the Spirit of God, knowing when to speak and when to hold our tongue. So speak reservedly. Make our words count. Be thoughtful in our speech. Encourage and edify rather than tear down and discourage.
In so doing we will glorify God.
WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!
