Thinking Think Before You Speak

Thinking

Think Before You Speak

Thinking takes time

Our emotions generally are impatient

Be sure you take time to be logical

When it is time to speak – do it 

Courteously and Respectfully

Give those listening to you time to think

 Think Before You Speak

I think all of us have had a time when we

opened our mouth and said something

we wished we had thought about first.

I saw this advice…

“Think before you act, twice before you speak

and three times before you post on facebook.”

It is true our actions, words and writings

need thought before they are made public.

My heart and mind are very quick.

I form ideas and feelings

before I know the whole story.

We have the ability to judge people

before they open their mouth.

This quick response of our mind and

heart can get us into a lot of trouble.

Proverbs 15 is full of those short “post it

sayings” that open the mind to expanded thought.

Verse 28 is one of those verses with a big impact…

“The heart of the righteous weighs its answers,

but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil.”

Proverbs 15:28 NIV

The Amplified says it this way… 

“The mind of the [uncompromisingly]

righteous studies how to answer,

but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.”

The mind, or heart of the righteous,

studies or weights how to answer.

I am a guy who does not like things on my

plate, because incomplete projects bother me.

As much as some of those issues may

bother me I want to get them in my past.

I have found “time” to be my friend…

Time to think, time to pray, time to mediate.

I sometimes think “time to think” is

my enemy because I can be impatient.

This Proverb says…

 “The mind of the righteous”

being righteous is to get it right.

When we get our answers

right we solve problems.

I am not fully sure why the Amplified Version

adds the word “uncompromisingly” righteous.

Many times we do compromise the answer

because we are trying to satisfy our feelings.

The right answer is the answer of truth.

The truth may hurt our feelings and the feelings

of others, but only the truth sets us free.

It is a process in our thinking and

emotions to come to the truth.

To be honest with ourselves is not always easy.

This is why time to study, time to weight

out the answer, is important before we speak.

Peter seems to have in mind this verse in Proverbs…

But in your hearts set Christ apart as holy [and acknowledge Him] as Lord. Always be ready to give a logical defense to anyone who asks you to account for the hope that is in you, but do it courteously and respectfully.

1 Peter 3:15

Always be ready to give a “logical defense”.

You and I have heard a lot of things

in life that did not seem logical.

When we hear something that seems

not to be logical and the emotions

are in control, there is a problem.

Peter gives us some good advice…

  Set Christ in your heart as Lord.

That is our reset button.

Get the view point of Christ.

This is why Jesus in instructing us to pray says…

“Our Father who is in heaven”

   From the throne of heaven God sees from

beginning to end, He sees the big picture,

He sees what holds everything together.

Remember you can always see

farther up than you can see around.

What is around you is real but

how it is seen from above is greater.

Our answers not only need to

be thoughtful, but respectful.

Your account of hope (what you

study and know to be true is your hope)

Your logical defense (defense

is a firm even combative word)

 

Needs to be shared…

 “courteously and respectfully”

    

In the end our hope needs to be logical.

In the end the hope of others needs to be logical.

Remember thinking logical takes time.

Give yourself and others time to think.

Scripture Reading

Proverbs 15:28 AMP

28 The mind of the [uncompromisingly] righteous studies how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.

1 Peter 3:15 AMP

15 But in your hearts set Christ apart as holy [and acknowledge Him] as Lord. Always be ready to give a logical defense to anyone who asks you to account for the hope that is in you, but do it courteously and respectfully.