Proverbs 17:28 “Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is considered prudent.”

WISE WORDS

I heard once that President Abraham Lincoln paraphrased this verse by saying, “Better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.”  How true!  But some people just can’t stop their tongue, it seems.  They have to have the last word.  They have to “put in their two cents worth” when we wouldn’t give them a “penny for their thoughts.”  Okay, that is enough clichés.

Have you known many wise people?  The ones I have known don’t say much, but when they do speak you want to listen.  They take in all the conversations around them and seriously ponder them before saying a word.  I have a friend like that.  He is in his 80’s now.  You can just see the wisdom on his face.  When he explains a verse or passage you had better have a pen in hand because you are going to want to remember exactly what he says.

TEACHING MOMENT

Our children need to find people like that in their lives.  Hopefully, we parents can be a wise advisor to them.  But we have to admit that we do not have all the wisdom we need either.  It is not a challenge to our parenthood to find others to whom our children can go for advice.

We also need to advise our children to “keep their mouths shut” sometimes.  Some kids just love to hear themselves talk.  They jabber and jabber and jabber.  They talk without thinking sometimes.  They will get in petty arguments about things that don’t matter.  They need to hear this verse.

How about you, Mom and Dad?  How do you talk to each other?  Are you so insistent to get the last word that you don’t even hear what the other person is saying?  Are you formulating your answer before they have even paused in their words to you?  Stop it!  Listen!  Before you say a single word, ask the Lord to give you the words He wants you to speak.  That would be wise!