If You Have Nothing to Say...

Then say nothing at all! Yet silence is threatening, isn't it? It's awkward, ill-feeling, and, well, shouldn't someone say something? So you blurt something out, and you sound like a fool.

Solomon reminds us to be careful and cautious with our words. "God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few"(Ecclesiastes 5:2) right after saying "Do not be quick with your mouth."

Think of the number of his proverbs that deal with the tongue/speech/sins of the mouth. Then we begin to realize the rightness of Jesus' brother James who reminds us that "no one can tame the tongue."

That's because it's a heart issue. Didn't Jesus say that it was the overflow of the heart that makes the mouth speak? So if we are angry, our words and tone reflect it. If we are uncomfortable or nervous, our words and tone reflect that. So if we are not comfortable with silence, it's only natural that conversations/words offered to fill the space will be forced and unnatural.

But what does that say about the state of our hearts?