“Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.” (Prov. 21:23 ESV)

The above promise is golden to those who obey it. It simply says that if you don’t say anything you will stay out of trouble. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? But in practice this is very hard to do, especially if you are angry.

I should have kept my mouth shut!

A few days ago, I stopped by a local store to buy something. The clerk, an older woman, asked me what I was looking for. She had it. I then told her where I had previously purchased the product online. As soon as she heard the name of the place, she launched a verbal attack on the business and told me they were terrible, sold only inferior products, and no one should ever purchase anything from them. I told her I had bought many items from them without issues. And she said I was totally ignorant and didn’t understand like she did, and I should be better educated. As her voice raised, so did mine. The conversation went back and forth and escalated as each of us responded to the other. Pretty soon we were shouting at each other, and there was nothing I could do but turn and leave. Afterwards, after calming down and revisiting our conversation in my mind, I realized I could have avoided the entire problem early on by simply remaining quiet. I did not have to respond to her negative comments, period. If I had only kept my mouth shut, I would have completely avoided trouble. I then tried to look at the issue from her side. I then realized she obviously cared about her products and did believe the online place was inferior, and they were ripping off people with poor substitutes, which was why she was angry with them. So the next day, I stopped into the store again to speak with her. I told her I was sorry for my behavior the previous day, which was rude and despicable. I told her I realized she obviously cares passionately about her products, and that is to be commended. When she heard this, she puddled up and said a few kind words. We parted as friends. 

There are some other promises and commands in God’s Word that are very helpful to remember.

A fool who keeps quiet will seem wise  

“Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.” (Prov. 17:28 ESV)

Don’t curse those who persecute you  

“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.” (Rom. 22:14 ESV)

The mouths of fools pour out folly  

“The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly.” (Prov. 15:2 ESV)

Restrain your words with understanding 

“Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.” (Prov. 17:27 ESV)