Be sensible and keep your mouth shut

I have probably shared before that Trish will tell you that I am brutally honest. I hope that more emphasis can be placed on "honest" than on "brutal". Now, it's not that I haven't told lies; if I claimed that, that would be a LIE. I have just gotten better with age at telling the truth, brutal or not.

One thing I have learned, and it has proven true time and again, is that if you start with a lie, you will have to tell more lies and more lies and more lies. And, before long, you have told so many lies to so many people that you can't remember what you have told to whom. Then, one things leads to another and, eventually, you have a mess. Lying is especially prevalent when we are trying to cover up a sin...

Today's word is Proverbs 10:19, and I love the NLT translation, which reads, "Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut."

When we start trying to impress, to be something that we are not, or we try to cover up something, we have a tendency to talk too much. And, the more we talk, the deeper the hole gets. The more we talk, the more we are apt to get caught up in sin. Not that talking in and of itself is a bad thing, it's not. But, too much talk will give us a false sense of belonging or a false sense of self-worth (everyone is interested in me).

Then, as with all other things that cause that euphoric feeling, we find ourselves needing more. So, in order to sound more interesting, we find ourselves telling things that aren't exactly true. I know. I've been there. Eventually, we leave the conversation thinking, "I should have shut up before I said...". Or, "I shouldn't have said..." The verse today has some great advice for each of us - "Be sensible and keep your mouth shut."

Be Blessed,
Mickey T