A Bit of Caution

^“When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal.”  James 3:3If you’ve ever been around someone who likes to talk a lot you know it can be grating. Too much chatter becomes noise after awhile.  Words are used to indicate differences or similarities however with the advent of social media, words have taken on a whole new meaning.When “Twitter” was introduced, it was a way to send brief communications without having to read long contents on screen (at least that’s my limited understanding of this social media). Unfortunately users have taken it to another level voicing not only successes or newsworthy events but also sharing their frustrations to whoever wants to hear and occasionally to those who don’t. You must admit, the Internet has opened the door to quick speech but that does not mean that everything is understood in the context it is written. When you put anything in writing it’s hard to take it back and equally so with verbal communication. A prudent person will think before speaking to consider what they want to say and weigh the impact of the words spoken which is exactly what Christians are encouraged to do.Recall the story of Elijah and Jezebel (1 King 18-19). Elijah had experienced a great victory. King Ahab, Jezebel’s husband went and told her everything that happened on Mount Carmel, how Elijah had killed all the prophets with a sword. Jezebel sent a response to Elijah, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.” She was too quick to speak because if she had exercised caution and thought about what she was saying she may have experienced a better outcome. Instead her words led to her demise.Be careful to listen before speaking and listening is not only done with ones ears. Our eyes are a way of listening too. “What we see can change what we hear.” The ability to constrain oneself is a sign of growth in spiritual awareness, becoming spiritually mature. Not everything you think needs to be said.   A “bit” of caution is always wise.