“Words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, while the lips of a fool consume him; the beginning of his talking is folly and the end of it is wicked madness. Yet the fool multiplies words.” –Ecclesiastes 10:12-14a
This is a lesson I am continually learning — I need to stop running my mouth. It is very much needed for me to hold my tongue, especially if I start to get upset with someone I care about.
After all, most of the time, what I’m upset about ends up being something really trivial that won’t matter later… 😕
And, to top it off, God has told us through the apostle Paul, “Do everything without grumbling or arguing” (Philippians 2:14).
Yet, if I’m meaninglessly complaining about little, dumb things, just because they come to my mind and go straight out of my mouth, what good is that? That’s certainly not exhibiting the fruit of self-control! 🍇
I think James said it quite well:
“The tongue also is a fire, 🔥 a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” –James 3:6
Yikes! 😬 And yet, how true!
So, considering I don’t want my whole life set on fire by the very flames of hell, I think I’d best shut my mouth! 🤐