Better to be Silent

Even a fool is considered wise when he keeps silent — discerning, when he seals his lips.

(Proverbs 17:28)

Meditation

There was a person in my past, who everyone thought was as wise as the proverbial guru on the mountain top, because he hardly ever said a word. He would sit in meetings, speaking only when he was required, and then only in short phrases that went straight to the point. It turned out, the man had no extra education for the work he was doing. Only on the job experience of over twenty years. He’d filed twice for personal bankruptcy protection. He couldn’t keep two nickels in his pocket without spending them. His teeth were falling out of his mouth because he didn’t know enough to brush them. But most people at work had a very high opinion of him because they thought he was wise.

Most people have known someone who just won’t stop talking? They are obsessed with making sure everyone knows how smart they are. Of course, their audience will usually see right through this display of insecurity. I have known one or two people like this. One was my boss, who wanted all of us peons to know how much of a grasp he had on the work we were doing. He would stand around pontificating on the proper technique for a certain procedure that was so out of date, we didn’t even have the tools to do it his way anymore. He usually ended up wasting valuable time we would have to make up with long added hours on a project. After a while, I began to feel sorry for him, not for his lack of current knowledge, but his foolish attempts to make us believe he knew more than he did.

There’s an old saying, ‘We have two ears and one mouth, so we should listen twice as much as we speak.’ Another person I’ve known never really had a conversation with me. If I was allowed to get a word in, in what I thought was a two-way conversation, he was only using the time to formulate what he was going to say next. He wasn’t really listening to what I was saying at all, therefore he wasn’t conversing, he was giving a speech. I’d pat myself on the back for listening to him, but I really wasn’t. He was the biggest bore I’ve ever known. He really couldn’t help himself. He lived alone after his parents died, had never been married, so of course, had no children. I don’t know that he even knew how to keep his mouth shut long enough to listen to what someone else was saying. He may have learned something. It's better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

Daily Prayer

Lord God of heaven and earth, you bless with wisdom all those who ask with a contrite heart. The foolish people believe they’re either born with wisdom or can learn to be wise, but they only prove their foolishness. Lord, we ask you to give us a kind of wisdom that is not common upon the face of the earth. Help us to see through the tricks of the devil and to discern what you would have us do. Give us the wisdom to live our lives like Jesus, giving of ourselves in any way we can. Fill us with your Spirit and make his voice loud enough to hear what he’s trying to tell us. Father, we sometimes can’t hear the instructions of the Holy Spirit because we live in times that hold such a cacophony of worldly noises. Sometimes it’s because we won’t shut up ourselves. Father, we don’t want to be looked upon as fools, especially in your eyes. Remind us it’s more important to please you with a closed mouth than wishing to impress others with what we think we know. It’s in the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen!