Talk is Cheap

Aesop, the ancient storyteller, told this fable: Once upon a time, a donkey found a lion’s skin. He tried it on, strutted around, and frightened many animals. Soon a fox came along, and the donkey tried to scare him, too. But the fox, hearing the donkey’s voice, said, “If you want to terrify me, you’ll have to disguise your bray.” Aesop’s moral: Clothes may disguise a fool, but his words will give him away.

What you say proves who you are. Your mouth speaks out of the abundance of your heart. This may be why the Proverbs warns us over and over again about the power of the tongue. Words have the power of life and death. The things you say can help or hurt yourself and others.

Page after page of Scripture has stories and quotes that caution of yakking too much. This really hits home to me as, well, I’m a motormouth. I’ve got to remember that selfishness and offense is often found where words abound.

Proverbs 21:23, “the one who guards his mouth and tongue keeps himself out of trouble.”

It takes effort to be quick to listen and slow to speak. It’s easy to pop off about every issue. Talk is cheap because supply exceeds demand. Instead of just saying whatever pops up, wisdom cautions us to take thoughts captive and then decide if those words should be shared. And while this idea sounds easy, it’s probably the hardest thing you may ever do..

Watching what and how you say things is a mark of spiritual maturity. The brother of the Messiah said that if you can tame the tongue then you have achieved a spiritual state of perfection. That’s a tall order that starts with allowing the mind to filter out thoughts. There is also a reason we have two ears and one mouth – we should listen more and talk less. Will you accept this amazing challenge today?