The Power of Silence

We all have opinions and are more apt to voice them on subjects in which we consider ourselves well-versed.  Before giving our opinion, however, we should understand that they are largely shaped by what has already been posited in us.  The more you think you know on a given subject, the more you really need to listen.  We should constantly recalibrate our thoughts, opinions, and words, by God’s Spirit, lest we mislead those that look to us for guidance.

In his book, “Celebration of Discipline,” Richard J. Foster said, “The  major reason we miss-speak is the need to justify ourselves.”  “One of the fruits of silence (however) is the freedom to let God be our justifier.”  Foster gives the following analogy of the tongue.  The tongue is a thermometer; it gives us our spiritual temperature.  It is also a thermostat; it regulates our spiritual temperature.  Test your thermometer and set your thermostat daily.  In so doing, you will be assured that when you do speak, you will use choice words under he power of God.