A fool does not delight in understanding,
but only in revealing his own mind.

Proverbs 18:2

In the last blog post I drummed my drum about the insanity of social media. And our key verse today fits very well into that same discourse. But, I won’t beat the drum today. I know, you hope not for a while. You’re probably right. Because we still do have some face to face communications with our fellow humans and we need to see what God has to say about up close and personal interactions. 

Our key verse for today is telling us what not to think and what not to do in our personal interactions. In the business world they used to call it, “Getting along in the sandbox.” Fools have a hard time with that because they are narcissistic, don’t really listen to what others are saying and only worry about what they want to say.

Have you ever heard someone say, “I pride myself in speaking my mind.”? Or, “If you can’t handle my opinion, that’s on you, not me.”? Or similar statements? Maybe you have said this yourself: I have. For most of my life I had the attitude of sharing whatever was on my mind. I was a fool and looking back, I am not proud of that at all. I am not proud of the people I hurt with my words. I am not proud of the relationships I damaged because I spoke my mind. I am not proud of the moments I missed and the moments I ruined because my opinion (even if I was right) had to be shared and right now!

I am thankful that “But God,” would not leave me alone and would not let me continue in this lie straight from the Father of Lies. Don’t misunderstand, I still have very strong opinions about important life issues and even in minor details and differences. But God has shown me that it is not ever my “calling” to go around telling everyone, “Just how it is…” What is my calling as a Christ-Follower is to share the Good News to those who need to hear and to share Christ’s love with my sisters and brothers in the family of God. 

This doesn’t mean I do not ever share my opinions, obviously! I do that here every day! It means I try very hard to think before I speak. It means I listen more and speak less. It means I focus more on relationship building than grand standing so I have a loving position from which to speak The Truth as God gives me opportunity. It is never a question of compromise, but rather the questions of who, where, when and how? 

I am clearly not Jesus or the Apostle Paul or any Bible hero. But, I have learned from them that one size does not fit all conversations. Wisdom and understanding and discernment are needed every time I open my mouth to speak or type. And I do NOT have the ability to do that on my own! Oh, how I need Jesus to hold my mouth shut when it sorely needs to be clamped! And I need Him to know when I do need to speak His Truth and speak it boldly and still wrapped in the love of The Cross. Sadly, I feel like I get it wrong more than I get it right. But I am learning and I want to keep on learning. “Forgive me, my words were harsh.” has become an important tool in my own life box.

Psalm 19:14

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.

Psalm 19:14