Take Your Time - Don't Be Hasty (TT)

One of the basic laws of counseling is to keep quiet and listen.  Use your eyes and use your ears to assess the situation before you collect your words to speak, if speaking be necessary.  Empathy and sensitivity to Holy Spirit's prompting is another given for Christian counselors - lay counselors included.  Not all conversations are counseling ones of course, but the idea is the same; respect for the others and their thoughts and feelings in any given situation.

Hasty words can really foul things up even if we hadn't intended offense to others or promised someone something too hurriedly and gotten ourself into hot soup when we couldn't keep the promise or fell short of fully fulfilling it.

Reining in our tongues can be quiet a feat.  However, with the Holy Spirit's help we can.  One of the Holy Spirit fruit characteristics is self-control.  When we conscientiously practice, the 'fruit' will mature.

James 1:19 exhorts,

"Therefore let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger ..." (ESV).

Our unrighteous anger leads to hasty words.  Let's be hearers who don't forget to take time to listen to God's word first and then to be doers who act upon it.  In so doing we can then take the time to hear others out, consider what someone may actually be saying and only after pondering it, to refrain speaking or to speak helpful words.  We will be more likely to be blessed if we do (see James 1:25 ESV).

A good benchmark suggested by Deborah Smith Pegue in her book 30 Days to Taming Your Tongue is:

"Perhaps we are to spend twice as much time listening than talking.  A good pause would serve us well in the long run"

She continues,

"Time and words are two things that, once gone, can never be recovered ..."

Heavenly Father, Your words are always pure and righteous.  Teach us Your ways.  May the words of my mouth be acceptable in Your sight and hearing.  Remind me not to be hasty to give vent to my words.  Rather to step back, to listen, consider, assess and then if truly beneficial and necessary for the other person, to speak only what Jesus would with the attitude He would.  So sorry for my often hasty words, spoken often in unruly anger.  I do repent and want to practice better self-control guided by Jesus' Holy Spirit.   I ask in Jesus' name, amen.

                                                     ~ ERC  April 2025 ~

Based on Proverbs 18:13; 20 and James 1:19 ESV.  Also, loosely based on 30 Days to Taming YOUR Tongue by Deborah Smith Pegues.

Sing, Wonderful Words of Life, along with Joslin Grove Choral.