Thinking Twice

We were catching up on her family news. She bragged about each of her adult children and their families, and I was genuinely delighted in the blessings right along with her. Then she leaned in close to me and whispered a fact about one of them, and said, “But no one else knows!” Continuing in a confidential whisper, she explained a number of glad and wonderful details. It was the type of good news I would have liked to share with my husband or family, and they, too, would have rejoiced.

But something about the way she told me the news made me pause. My thought was, “Actually, even though this is very good news, it’s not yours to share.” Later that evening, I thought that even though my friend knows I can be trusted with confidential information, she was probably wishing her mouth had a backspace key.

The next day she phoned and begged me to not tell anyone. (Yep, there she did it, *delete.*) I was glad I could tell her, “I haven’t shared this news; and I won’t!"

Will Rogers once said, “Never miss a good chance to shut up.” What is it about being human that makes it so hard for us to keep quiet? It goes without saying that we should not slander, gossip, or meddle, but we should also know when it is time to use discretion in our conversations. A study of the word “discretion” in Scripture seems to indicate acting with a plan, and being perceptive, prudent, and discerning. Hmm. Like “thinking twice” before we speak.

Proverbs 2:11 says that discretion will preserve, or guard us. Indeed. If we use a little more discretion, perhaps we’ll not be wishing as often for that backspace key.

Glad and Grateful

A silly-but-slightly-intriguing time waster while you're doing it: an Internet application to determine the words one uses most often in a conglomeration of postings. But then again, maybe it's at least a little enlightening.

I view the "top ten" words used by several others. Love. Happy. Hope. Work. We love our families, and we also love coffee. We are happy for last night’s snowfall, and hope you have a happy birthday. Words used in various contexts but that pepper our spoken and written conversations, and which reference our value systems.

Not a bad beginning to a new year, after all, to examine the words we use most often. Not from a list on an Internet application, but from digging deep and reflecting on the majority of the words we use. What do they tell others about ourselves? Are they a true representation of what what we want to convey? As Paul explained it to the Colossians, our speech should always be "with grace, seasoned with salt . . . " (4:6). I relish that description for the pleasant gentleness associated with words of grace and the palatable addition of salt, which enhances their meaning or significance.

Our words can be a valuable adornment for the testimony of our lives, "apples of gold in pictures of silver" (Prov. 25:11). Most likely our written and spoken conversations could contain more affirmations, more encouragements, more truths, and more "soft answers" that deflect argumentation and negativity. More grace, seasoned with salt.