Are You Hasty With Your Words?
“Do you see a man hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.”
Ever been hanging out with some friends, and then you let something slip out of your mouth before you have a chance to think about just what you’re saying? Maybe your guests are busy chatting about their own lives, and you feel forgotten, or perhaps you just want to make the conversation more interesting.
So, you mention something simple. “Oh yeah, I heard about that! Did you know that the man who lived there before that was a criminal? Yeah, I heard he hit up a few banks and then spent some time in jail. He definitely deserved, the old hoot!”
Then, suddenly, one of your friends stands up and walks away.
You’re confused…what was bothering him.
Only later does he admit that ‘old hoot’ was his grandfather, who was struggling with the rumors that were circulating about him. He never had robbed a bank…but thanks to the nasty comments about him that were floating around, more and more people were beginning to think he had.
And now you feel stupid.
Proverbs 29:20 speaks about this kind of behavior and in particular calls out a man who regularly makes it a habit of speaking before he has time to think it through. The verse reads, “Do you see a man hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.”
A fool is someone who doesn’t understand even the simplest of things. While a fool might seem smart, in reality, they speak on petty matters they can’t comprehend. In this case, however, we are told that a man who speaks rashly is more doomed than a fool is.
Why?
Well, think about it. Learning to tame your tongue is incredibly difficult, which is also why it has such power. Over and over the Bible speaks on the benefits of and consequences of not taming your tongue. James 1:26 goes as far as to say, “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.”
It is very important then that we learn to think before we speak.
In a heated situation when we’re mad or frustrated, it’s really easy to say the first thing that comes to mind. Whether that is an insult or something that really shouldn’t be said, when we ‘feel’ it’s justified, it’s really hard to stop it.
What’s even harder though is swallowing whatever harsh comment you want to say and instead speaking gently to whoever it is we’re mad at, as Proverbs 15:1 advises us to do. Even in situations when we aren’t mad or intentionally trying to hurt someone, it is still important to watch our words.
If what we’re saying is gossip or harmful rather than beneficial, we should swallow our words, pray for the strength to say something else, and instead either remain quiet or speak positively.
Very rarely will saying something mean or rude give us the response we want, and in the end, it will just hurt our friendships. “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!” (Psalms 141:3)
So, let’s pray for the courage to control our words and think twice before we speak!
