"stop talking!"

February 5, 2003

today, i saw a girl walk across this big patch of ice on my way to class. it was interesting to watch. for every step she made, she'd be extremely cautious and careful. basically she'd wait before she made her next move, making sure her foot was firmly planted on the ground before moving on.

so i started thinking about how people generally would walk over a piece of ice. almost everyone slows down when they walk across a big patch of ice (who really wants to fall down?). they'll slow down their pace and carefully ensure that each foot is planted before moving on. hopefully that'll ensure a safe trip across the patch of ice.

if only we were that cautious with the words we speak to others. if we were to carefully consider the words that came out from our mouth before saying them, we could save ourselves and others a lot of harm! words have an incredible power. they can build up a person, encourage them and bring them down. and so what we say to a person can have a larger impact that one might think.

peter always had his foot in his mouth. he'd always say the first thing that came to his mind, and so he'd get himself in trouble a lot. i find that i'm a lot like that too. though i can control my tongue to a certain extent, it's not as much as i'd like. the other day, i made a joke to my mom and after i said it i was smacking myself because i thought it wasn't appropriate at that time immediately after i had said it (normally my mom would laugh with me, but in that circumstance, she didn't). and i was right. my mom proceeded to come downstairs to tell me that it wasn't funny. and boy did i feel stupid.

me and jer always say how we should "stop talking". in most cases i agree with that. i don't see anything wrong with verbalizing your opinion, but if your opinion causes another person to stumble or something along those lines, there's a definite problem. in my experiences, i have in more cases than none said too much. i just need to shut up more and think more carefully about EVERY single word that leaves my mouth just like a person thinks carefully about each step when they walk across a patch of ice.

"but no man can tame the tongue. it is a restless evil, full of deadly poison" (james 3:6)

it's hard for us to encourage/build up other people. i think human tendency is to bring others down, so we ourselves are lifted up above them. it's a pride thing. it's always about ME first, others later (or in some cases never).

i think i need to be more wary of the words i say. if it's not edifying or useful, then just to shut up and stop talking :) but of course, all of this cannot happen on my own. nothing can happen on my own!

it's all Jesus.

Posted by Leo Chan at February 5, 2003 11:41 PM