My Pappaw was a man of few words, so when he spoke, people listened. Granted, when he did decide to speak, sometimes he was telling Aggie jokes, but still people listened. He had little to apologize for because he did not speak out of turn, in pride, out of anger, or in haste. He was comfortable with the silence. He would go and sit with people in the hospital and would sit silently with them for a spell and then prayed before he left.
Pappaw reminded me of a commercial when I was a kid. “When E F Hutton speaks, people listen.” Do you remember that slogan?
There are so many people who want to be heard because they like the sound of their own voice, but it doesn’t benefit the kingdom. There are people who think they have the right to say whatever they want, but it doesn’t benefit the kingdom.
Ecclesiastes 5:1-2, “Guard your steps when you to the house of God. Better to draw near in obedience than to offer the sacrifice as fools do, they ignorantly do wrong. Do not be hasty to speak, and do not be impulsive to make a speech before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.”
Basically Scripture is telling us when we run our traps we are being foolish.
“When there are many words, sin is unavoidable,
but the one who controls his lips is wise.”
BAM! Cannot speak it any simpler or clearer.
Do you have loose lips? Slack jaw? The Mouth of the South?
For some reason some people are uncomfortable with silence. I investigate insurance fraud and have for around 20 years, and when I would take someone’s statement, silence is a tool I used because people feel the need fill the void with words. It was those words which would revealed things they hadn’t intended on telling.
Sitting beside someone praying silently as they face a hardship is one of the sweetest, best things a Christian can do for another person. Too often Christians feel the need to pass on some of their sage wisdom, quote Scripture, or recite some platitude. These words are often in poor taste, unfelt, and detrimental because God does not put those words in their mouths to speak they should not cross the lips.
Do you know why people would listen when my Pappaw spoke? Because when he spoke, he had thought over the words, prayed over the words, and said only the words that were needed. You want to be heard? Let your words be few.