A Foolish Person

(Proverbs 29:11 ISV)  The fool vents all his feelings, but the wise person keeps them to himself.

This verse seems to show the contrast of the two sides of mankind. One usually starts off in life saying and doing foolish things as a result of their immaturity. However, as they grow up and mature then healthy changes are expected with more self-control of their actions and speech.  The only way restraints and control can actually come is through maturity.

When an older person continues to do whatever feels good to them and say whatever comes to their mind it is because their emotional being did not mature at the same rate as their physical being. It is actually possible for one to have a ninety year old body with an eight year emotional development.

When a little kid says everything that comes to their mind it is kinda cute. We laugh and say, “Well they are just speaking their mind”. However, when they get older and still do the same thing, then that is no longer cute.

One of the most distasteful things is for a physically mature person to speak whatever comes to their mind. The result of such action is usually a string of wounded people in their path because they used their mouth as a weapon. Strong’s concordance interprets the word “foolish” in our text as “Stupid or silly”.

Strong’s interpretation may seem a little harsh at first but its message could actually be a lifeline for building one’s character. If one could learn from Strong’s interpretation it could actually change their mouth from being a spiritual weapon of mass destruction to a source of life and healing.

When God gave man the ability to speak it was for the purpose of speaking creatively as He does. However, when Satan came along in the Garden of Eden one of the first things he did was to pervert man’s creative speaking ability and turn it into a weapon of destruction. That is why Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue...”

As one matures in life two things are expected. Counting the cost before one acts and running every thought thru a filtering process before speaking. Without filters one’s speech is like a loaded weapon in the hands of a child.

Because I have been acquainted with many people who seem to have no control over their actions or mouth it would be cruel for me to identify any one of them. This Meditation may fit many but it was through the actions of one person that provoked this writing.

Over the years I have made a habit of studying folks who seem to have no filters on their mouths. To my surprise most of them are all basically good people even though at times they have the ability to destroy another person with their mouth. Another thing they seem to have in common are folks who follow behind them picking up the pieces and trying to heal the damage that was caused by their uncontrolled mouth.

I have also noticed that the worst cases of mouth destruction seen to come from Christians. Perhaps it is because of their relationship with the Lord that they have more power in their words than most. The sad thing is when one uses their God given power to destroy rather than to build up. In other words they have the ability to smile and talk sweet to you in one moment and kill you the next moment with the same mouth.

When that happens it is because their body matured but their emotions did not and therefore they go through life lopsided and in need of healing. I have also noticed that the person with no filters is not capable of receiving any measure of rejection or being talked to in the same destructive way that they talk to others.

I just wonder…is our text really talking about all those other people or is it talking about us?

Father,

Heal us and help us to mature with filters on our mouths lest we destroy those You love. Forgive us Lord when we misuse Your power and teach us to talk like You.

Amen