TALK MUCH??

When I was in high school (notice a theme here recently) there was a song that had the phrase, "You talk to much; you never shut up." At this point, I can't remember who sang the song or any other words from it, but I laughed when it came to mind during my quiet time.

Why you might ask? Well, I was praying about my mouth. Specifically, what comes out of it and what goes in to it. It's my biggest area of struggle. I am working on changing my eating habits -cutting out all sugar and grains - to help my health. My goal is to get off of the acid blockers I've been taking for almost a decade. Short-term, they can be helpful, but long-term, they have a bunch of very icky side effects. So, I am cutting out a lot from what I eat. As a self-professed sweets' addict, it's hard! I'm only on day 2 and I'm about ready to sell my firstborn for a brownie! lol

But the harder part of that equation, by far, is controlling what goes OUT Of my mouth. Last month, I wrote down a ton of verses that have to do with our mouth out of the book of Provers. I was reading through them again this morning. All I can say is OUCH!!! A few of them stood out to me since generally my problem is I just talk too much, not so much that I am mean spirited and am trying to be hurtful, but the more you say, well, the better chance you have of saying the wrong thing. So, I thought I'd share these verses with you.

"The wise of hert will receive commands, but a babbling fool will be ruined." Proverbs 10:8

"When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise." Proverbs 10:19

"There is one that speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." Proverbs 12:18

"A prudent man conceals knowledge but the heart of fools proclaim folly." Proverbs 12:23

"He who restrains his words has knowledge adn he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. Even a fool, when he keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is considered prudent." Proverbs 17:27,28

"A food does not delight in understanding, but only in revealing his own mind." Proverbs 18:2

Proverbs also has a lot to say about the wise man and usually that includes keeping his mouth shut. I am a word person. I work things through by verbalizing. I write things out to get it out of my head and understand things. Words are my medium, but they also get me into trouble.

We live in a era where constant communication is the norm. People get upset if they can't get a hold of you RIGHT NOW! Through places like facebook, twitter and others I'm not as familiar with, it is possible to share all your thoughts at any moment of any day. According to Proverbs, that isn't a good thing. In fact, how many celebrities or public figures have gotten themselves into trouble because of the immediancy of communication now a days?

We forget that silence CAN be golden - at least I do on a regular basis. Sometimes, mom was right - if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all!
~ Blessings, Bronte