READING:
One-year plan: Proverbs 29-31, Galatians 2
Two-year plan: 2 Samuel 23, John 2:13-25
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I can recall far too many times when I spoke without thinking. Sometimes I just assumed information but later learned that my thinking (actually, my lack thereof) was simply wrong. At other times, I reacted to a situation without knowing all the details. I suspect there were times when I was regretting the words even as I spoke them; at other times, I later came to regret them. Perhaps you, too, remember times when you spoke too soon.
The writer of Proverbs spoke to this issue, too: “Do you see someone who speaks too soon? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Prov 29:20). One problem with speaking too soon is that words take on a life of their own as soon as they come out of our mouths. To speak before thinking is to unnecessarily invite trouble; it is to risk later suffering the consequences of having spoken too soon. Thus, it is wise for us to remember James 1:19 – “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger.”
Here’s my challenge for you and me today: no matter what we face, all of us prayerfully consider the situation before we speak.
PERSONAL REFLECTION: Do you tend to speak too soon? To listen little?
DAILY PRAYER: “God, help me to listen before I speak today.”
TOMORROW’S READINGS:
One-year plan: Ecclesiastes 1-4, Galatians 3:1-26
Two-year plan: 2 Samuel 24, John 3:1-21