Canter Bridge

Here’s yet another reason to be quiet: survival.

A fool’s lips walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating. (Proverbs 18:6 ESV)

Loose lips not only sink ships. They also account for a disproportionate percentage of bar-room brawls, spats between neighbors, boardroom eruptions, and fisticuffs in the Walmart parking lot.

Only a fool insists upon flapping his gums every time a thought occurs.

Unless you have a compelling reason to hang around when a loud conversationalist says, ‘Look, I always say exactly what’s on my mind’, run away.

We are a contentious and litigious culture, not least because we just can’t stop talking. We bring unnecessary grief upon ourselves.

Ironically, the curator of biblical wisdom himself becomes loquacious when it comes to the healthiness of silence:

A fool’s mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul. (Proverbs 18:7 ESV)

Wisdom that is self-serving is not less wise for its protective instinct.

It knows what it’s talking about, so to speak.

So, stop talking.

Eventually, people will want to know what you think.