The best place you can demonstrate wisdom: Watch what you say!

By Dean Collins

There’s wisdom in restraint. But not everyone sees it.

Depending on one’s mood or circumstance, you might read the word restraint and have a negative or positive encounter with it. You might think of restraint as limiting, controlling, or restricting you. Or you might consider restraint as a source of protection and comfort. If, for instance, we want to do something and are restrained from doing it, we don’t like that reality. But placing your infant in the restraint of a car seat offers significant protection from injury.

Wisdom from Gpd

Even though it seems Solomon had trouble living up to many principles of restraint in his own life, his proverbs reflect not only wisdom from God but also the apparent prayers of his father, David. In Psalm 141, David urgently prayed for God to listen and help him in a time of trouble. We do not know the particular situation of Psalm 141, but it is clear David felt the threat of men who sought to harm him and disrupt his leadership. Wisely, David prayed for God to restrain both his mouth and his heart from harboring or speaking or doing evil against anyone. His desire was for God to correct any errors in his thinking or planned behavior. His desire was that he reflect the ways of God in his next move and in his response to those intent on evil.

Solomon indicated in Proverbs 27 that restraining our speech is wise and will lead us to remain calm. And in Proverbs 28, the wise king reminds us that it is a fool who insists on constantly expressing their opinions.

Unbridled commentary

In current culture, there seems to be a near insistence that everyone often express their opinions, their complaints, their judgments, and sadly, their ignorance. The freedom of unbridled restraint of opinions in social media has emboldened many to boldly express their choices and ideas in public protests and displays that sadly lead to division and at times open hostility.

While unbridled commentary may be celebrated in current culture, it should not be the behavior of Christ’s followers. Yet there appears to be little restraint in the tweets and posts from church leaders and others who claim allegiance to Jesus and his teachings. Sadly, when this happens, we confuse the nonchristian and stunt the growth of new believers. Without the transformation of a renewed mind, there is little hope of spreading the good news of Jesus.

Personal assessment

Maybe it’s time for each of us to assess our willingness to understand that our freedom in Christ should not result in constant expressions of everything we dislike or disagree with. Today’s prayer might be a prayer for restraint.

“Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips! Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity, and let me not eat of their delicacies! Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it. “

Lord, we pray this prayer of David that you might lead us to understand the beauty of godly restraint and the correction that comes from wise counsel so that we might live lives that reflect the good news of Christ. May our words and our behavior promote the unity that our Savior prayed and died for. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Your time with God’s Word
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭17‬:‭27‬-‭28; 18:2; Psalm 141:1-10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Photo by Kat Smith at pexels.com
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