Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
Proverbs 17:27
“Listen up everyone reading this, nobody likes to be around someone who talks all the time.”
God’s ways are so opposite our ways. Who but God could say a person who is full of knowledge will not talk much? I mean, if we know a lot, do we not need to share that knowledge with everyone all the time? Should we not join every conversation and make sure everyone is on the right track?
According to God, the answer is “no.” Listen up everyone reading this, nobody likes to be around someone who talks all the time. They may not say it to you or me, but much inner eye-rolling is happening when we talk so much that we rarely take a breath (for fear someone else will speak). Conversation is a gift from God, but never letting others speak and then not listening because we are thinking of what we want to say next, shows our foolishness.
A true listener is rare. I had to admit to myself that I was a fool in many ways because of my lack of listening, and my answering (or interrupting) before really listening.
To answer before listening– that is folly and shame.
Proverbs 18:13
“I am now blissfully aware the world will keep turning without my opinion, without my presence and without my words.”
The fact that I would interrupt and speak before really listening was a sign of my folly and shame. It showed I was being a fool and it was an insult to the person talking with me. I have worked hard on this but I still do it sometimes.
It was a sign of my “know-it-all” tendency. Anyone who gets to really know God on any level, will kind of shut up. I am currently overwhelmed with how much I don’t know. I hope to stay overwhelmed like that the rest of my life. I am now blissfully aware the world will keep turning without my opinion, without my presence and without my words.
“If we want wisdom, we need to stop talking and listen.”
Listening to others is the key to understanding everything about them. It’s a crazy truth. If we want wisdom, we need to stop talking and listen. First thing is to get silent before God and listen to Him. Along with that, start reading His Word so He can open our minds to understand what He is really saying. We have access to the mind and heart of God through prayer and what He has shared with us… His Words.
No wonder the most powerful force on the planet is not weapons, but words.
Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.
Proverbs 25:15
I have always been a talker…for good or bad…I could talk.
“Words are so powerful. They can do more harm than a weapon or more good than medicine.”
In my sinful days, I could get by the door of a club even though I was underage. How? I was cute and very persuasive with words. Words are so powerful. They can do more harm than a weapon or more good than medicine. Only the One who used His words to create an entire universe can tell us the power of what is spoken. When we play fast and loose with words, we show that we have no idea the weight of what we let flow out of our mouths and into the universe.
Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.
Proverbs 10:19
Only a very wise person weighs their words carefully before letting them out. God gives us a warning in Proverbs that would revolutionize our lives if we would only listen.
The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.
Proverbs 20:5
“What’s in our hearts will ultimately come out of our mouths.”
Women and men both listen up, people have hearts that hold deep motives. God would spare us all from getting involved with and ultimately marrying the wrong person if we would only pay attention to what He says. People have huge hidden agendas in their hearts. How can we find out what they are? Listen to what they say. What’s in our hearts will ultimately come out of our mouths. People are constantly revealing their hearts to us, but if we don’t listen or shut our mouths long enough to hear, we will never learn.
I talk to people who marry people and come to me shocked at who that person is. When I ask them if they saw the things that are obvious now as they dated, they often say that they had no idea.
Why? Because we all have hidden agendas. Sometimes, people just want to get married so even though they see some faults in the other person, they figure they will change them once the wedding ceremony happens. Those of us that have been married for a long time can laugh at that!
People have deep hearts and if we have understanding, we will be able to see plainly what is in other people. However, we have to shut our own mouths to do that.
A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.
Proverbs 18:2
God help us all to heed these valuable nuggets He has given us in His Word. I don’t want to be a fool. I want to be like Mary. After she had Jesus and shepherds came to see them, she didn’t talk, she pondered it all in her heart. No wonder God chose her to be the mother of our Lord. She was highly favored by God for many reasons and I believe that characteristic is one of them.
“I have found that when God is my goal and His Word is in my mind, there is a deep satisfaction inside of me.”
If we are constant talkers, it’s obviously not a good thing. How do we fix something so deeply ingrained in us? The first thing is to admit it to ourselves. The next thing is to go to God with it and ask Him to help us. I have found that when God is my goal and His Word is in my mind, there is a deep satisfaction inside of me. When my mind has something interesting and exhilarating to ponder, my mouth doesn’t move near as much because my mind is occupied with the highest thing it was created for…contemplating God.
When I’m overwhelmed by Him, words naturally start to be fewer.
Years ago, I was a fool and a gossip. Why? I was shallow, self-exalting and loved to talk about others because it made me the center of the universe. I hated to listen because I needed the floor. It was miserable.
“Start today. Zip your lips and be determined to listen to others.”
Now that God is the center of my universe, I’m totally content to listen. I love listening. I’m genuinely interested in others. I get more pleasure out of listening than I ever did from talking. God made us and knows this. Start today. Zip your lips and be determined to listen to others. God will open up a world you didn’t know existed to you.
We were created for so much more than self-absorption. We were created to be like God…good listeners.
