Two Ears One Mouth

“Do you see a man hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.”

Proverbs 29:20

 

I'm reminded as I read the book of Proverbs that God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason. I had to laugh at the little story about a pastor that you could say suffered from “hoof in mouth disease” one Sunday morning as he shared with his congregation. He relived the horror of that day explaining, “Having grown up just outside New York City, I barely knew a cow from an ear of corn. Until, that is, I married a small-town Ohio farm girl. While I was in seminary school, I had a temporary assignment at a church in a rural community. The day of my first sermon, I tried very hard to fit in.  Maybe too hard! With my wife sitting in the first pew, I began my discourse: “I never saw a cow until I met my wife.” (Story ends and maybe the sermon too!)

Now that is funny, awkward but funny as you can imagine the stunned expressions by both this young pastors wife and the congregation as they first heard these words without a complete understanding of their intent. We don’t have to make every mistake ourselves and this little illustration serves as an exhortation as well as a reminder to all of us to keep our guard up and pray like David did in Psalm 141:3 where he penned these words, “Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.” In other words, think about and pray about the words you choose before you speak, not after.

Let’s make this the goal today, loved one, to bless, encourage and seek to edify the people we come in contact with. Think in advance of people and ways you can bless others by the words you speak and then enjoy watching God speak through you as you minister to others remembering the words we speak may be short and sweet but there echo continues on and on throughout the day. After all, people don’t always remember what we say but they don’t forget how we make them feel.

“Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.”

Colossians 4:6

I LOVE YOU!