![]() Surely a great beginning point of that kind of service is actively choosing their words over my own. My silence, then, is a way I can truly serve others, for true service is more than simply doing something for someone else it’s thinking of someone as better than myself. Conversely, If I consciously made the choice to keep my mouth closed, then I would find much more intellectual energy available to truly listen and process what someone else is saying. The only way, after all, I could speak so quickly after someone else is if I’ve been considering my clever retort while they have been speaking instead of actually listening to them. Often times, my quick speech betrays my self-focus. In thinking through the contrary voice of wisdom in Proverbs, then, I see at least three spiritual reasons why it’s a good idea to keep my mouth shut more often. In a society of hot takes, in a world of instant opinion and reaction, and in a culture where the loudest voice seems to always win, the temptation is there to broadcast. Certainly not all the time, but also certainly more than most of us do. But doing so is much, much easier said than done. ![]() There is wisdom in keeping your mouth shut. ![]() Or Proverbs 13:3: “ The one who guards his mouth protects his life the one who opens his lips invites his own ruin.” Take, then, what we find in Proverbs 21:23: “ The one who guards his mouth and tongue keeps himself out of trouble.” Perhaps, then, the exhortations we find in Proverbs regarding our speech are not just applicable to our literal mouths and words perhaps they are equally applicable to all the ways we broadcast ourselves. Broadcasting statements, pictures, videos to any and all who darken the doorway of our social media accounts. Perhaps not in volume, but at least in volume. That is, we might not be yelling all the time, but most of us are broadcasting almost all the time. ![]()
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