To everything there is a season . . . a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.
� Ecclesiastes 3:1,7
I can think of so many times when I should have kept silent but just had to speak. Have you ever done that? Have you ever said something, and the moment it left your lips, you thought, Why did I just say that? But you said it.
The Bible says, "My dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry" (James 1:19, NLT). How much better it would be for us if we would pause for a moment before we speak, asking ourselves, Is this the right thing to say? Would this be an appropriate statement to make? Lord, would this glorify You?
Have you ever been in a situation like that, when you wanted to say the perfect thing, yet you ended up saying the lamest thing possible?
An old proverb advises, "Better to be silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and dispel all doubt." Or, as another proverb says, "A closed mouth gathers no foot."
Proverbs 16:32
Better a patient person:angel: than a warrior:boxing:, one with self-control than one who takes a city.
Proverbs 17:27
The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint, and whoever has understanding is even-tempered.
Proverbs 10:19
Sin is not ended by multiplying words, but the prudent hold their tongues.
Proverbs 14:29
Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly.
Ecclesiastes 7:9
Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.
James 3:10
Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.
James 4:11
Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it.
Proverbs 11:12
Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent.
Psalm 4:4
Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah
Psalm 46:10
�Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!�
James 3:1-18
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man:angel:, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!
Proverbs 13:3
Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.
Colossians 4:5-6
Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
Ephesians 4:29
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good:hearts: for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
The Son of God is our Judge during the coming Judgement Day and He WARNS us:
"But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. "For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."
Matthew 12:36
Romans 14:12
So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
James 3:6
The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one's life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
The Son of God says:
�Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.
Matthew 12
The Son of God WARNS us:
A Tree Known by Its Fruit!
33 �Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. 36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.�
The Son of God says to Christians:
But I tell you that anyone who is angry :boxing:with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, 'Raca,' (an idiot...whoever insults his brother...Fool) is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
