Proverbs 12:22-23
There have been several stories lately about
people telling things they were supposed to keep secret. They betrayed a
promise they made when they started the jobs. Right or wrong, they broke faith
with their employers.
One of the great skills is life is knowing
when to shut up! We all need to learn this important skill. We all know people
who just fill empty, silent air with their voices. This fill-the-space-itis takes
many different forms, but each one has a cure.
Some always have a personal story about
every topic under discussion. Sometimes these stories fit, and sometimes they
don’t. And the person telling the story often doesn’t realize that the people
around them many times go into ‘pause’ mode when the story starts. You can see
it on their faces. When the story is done, they pick up right where they left
off, without skipping a beat. Take the story out of the conversation and you
would never know it was missing.
Some people fill the space with odd facts,
or humorous moments. Some just talk about themselves. Some are just
uncomfortable with the silence. We all need to learn when it is appropriate to
talk, and when silence is needed.
This is never truer than when what we know
could hurt someone else. As our proverb says, a fool blurts it out. Someone who
is trustworthy keeps this knowledge to themselves. We know how to hold a
confidence. We protect those who have trusted us.
Have you ever noticed that gossip stretches
over time, getting larger with each retelling! Fools don’t know how to just
leave something alone. They feel compelled to tell it. So they end up adding
little bits of information, perhaps unknowingly, when they get a hold of
information. These added bits are lies. The LORD doesn’t like liars.
A good test of information might be
something like this. If this were told about me, would this be a positive
reflection of the Jesus whom I serve? If the answer is “No”, maybe it would be
better to keep the information to ourselves. There should be no reason to
discredit another person, especially another believer. But doing this to an
unbeliever discredits Christ.
Even if true, we don’t need to share. We
should share if it means life or death, health or safety. Otherwise, we should
hold this information. If someone is being abused, we tell appropriate
authorities. Some states mandate that everyone reports.
The fool has no ability to hold back, they
just spill their beans, even if someone else is hurt in the process. Know when
to hold the beans.