Let Your Words Be Few

"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use." -Soren Kierkegaard

Too often we are too quick to speak. We ramble on about things we do not understand, or we speak of matters that we know nothing of. We say things we do not truly mean or intend. Or we say things that we do intend but ought not be spoken. We speak when we should be silent. The consequences of this are endless and altogether destructive and useful for little.

What if our words were fewer than they are? What if we stopped ourselves before speaking and thought about what we were going to say before we said it? What if we chose to not speak about things we didn't understand? What if we thought about the impact our words have on people before it was to late? What if our words were edifying?

"The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly." Proverbs 15:2

I think if we did this, it would go a long way in improving a great many things. Sometimes silence can be a very good thing.

"The wise speak only of what they know " - J.R.R. Tolkien