The Benefits of Zipping It

Your words are like a tube of toothpaste. Once you squeeze the tube and the toothpaste comes out, there's no way to ever put it back in the tube. It's over and your words are out. One of the most common traps people can fall into, and one I have fallen into before, is not knowing when to be quiet and zipping it. For some odd reason most people don't know when to be quiet, even though there are many warnings in the Bible about this. Two of my favorite verses warning us about this trap are Proverbs 10:19, "Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut" and Proverbs 21:23, "If you keep your mouth shut, you will stay out of trouble." What rich wisdom for everyone. There are only two ways to learn something. Either by education or experience. Unfortunately, when it comes to this, most of us have had to learn from experience. I understand, because unfortunately I've done it. However, the million dollar question is whether or not we chose to learn from it. We live in a culture that promotes freedom of speech, and being able to say whatever, whenever. It's very clear, that although this is what culture allows us to do, it's not what the Bible instructs us to do. Many people should replace the massive river coming from their mouths with a small stream. If we don't heed the Scriptural warnings, sin and trouble await us! That's good enough warning for me. Know when to speak and when to be quiet, as it may save yourself much grief.