“For by your words you will be
acquitted and by your words you will be condemned.”
-Matthew 12:37
The air was hot and heavy as the
temperature soared. The small building was jammed by folks who had come to hear
their local politicians. Finally, the last speaker made his way to the rostrum,
cleared his voice, and started speaking. Thinking that he would be brief, the
people patiently waited and waited. He droned on and on, wiping beads of
perspiration from his forehead as he jabbed the air with his handkerchief to
accent his point. Finally, he raised his voice a high pitch and said, “I speak
not for his generation but for generations to come.” Taking it no longer, an
expectant mother jumped to her feet and headed for the door saying, “Yes, and
if you do not finish your speech real soon, the next generation will be here
before you’re done!”
There is something to be said for
brevity. In 136 Hebrew Words, God gave the 10 commandments. In fewer than 1,000
words you can have the Lord’s Prayer, the 23rd Psalm, the
Hippocratic oath, a sonnet by Shakespeare, the Preamble to the Constitution,
the Boy Scout Oath, and Lincoln’s Gettysburg address. Quite a contrast to the
fact that the average person lets more than 18,000 words fall from his lips
every day.
“There is, a time to keep silence and
a time to speak,” wrote the author of Ecclesiastes. And knowing the difference
distinguishes one who has real wisdom from one who does not. Knowing when to
offer advice and counsel, and when to keep your mouth shut is a talent that
could well be sought after by more people. God gives us the gift of listening
as well as the gift of speaking. There is a time to speak and a time to remain
silent.
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