April 22, 2023- There Is Wisdom In Being Quiet

“Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive.” -Proverbs‬ ‭17‬:‭28‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

In the age of social media, everyone has an opinion about everything. Politics, religion, relationships, education, and sports just to name a few. There are those who believe that they are experts on these topics simply because they have the ability to share their views and believe they are right. Instead of looking like experts with their words, they find themselves the punchline of all the jokes. The comments section is full of ridicule and jokes about what they have said.  The crazy part is all they had to do was keep quiet and none of this would have made it their way. Now they are exposed for some things that no one wanted to be associated with when it was a time to keep quiet rather than speak up. I will never forget what my senior English teacher told us. It is better to keep your mouth shut and thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

The book of Proverbs is written by Solomon for the purpose of helping one navigate through life. The important lesson in this particular proverb is that sometimes it is better to keep quiet. There are areas in our lives where it suits us to listen rather than to speak. When you choose your moments to speak, it says something about you. You think before you speak and because you do, the perception of you changes. You become one who takes their time before making a decision. You weigh both sides. Don’t be in a rush to say anything. It just might be the one statement that defines the rest of your life.