HOLDETH HIS PEACE – Proverbs 11:12
Proverbs 11:12 He that is void of wisdom despiseth his neighbor: but a man of understanding holdeth his peace.
It is easy to talk about someone behind their back. It is easy to see the bad in another and gossip about it to everyone you know. However, that is not the ways of God, God desires that you love your neighbor as yourself. You do not talk evil about yourself to others. You do not naturally tell others about all the mistakes that you made so that others do not like you as they should. If you do not do it to yourself, what makes you think God likes it when you do it to others?
Keeping your mouth shut is not easy. It takes real self-control. When David was fleeing for his life from his son Absalom, Shimei came out and was cursing the king. David was king and could have had Shimei killed, but instead, he held his peace and was willing to wait and see what God was doing in his present distress.
Absalom on the other had was void of wisdom. He was doing everything in his power to ensure that there could never be reconciliation between him and his father. He required that the nation choose between him or his father. Absalom set up a tent where he went into ten concubines of his father. Absalom despised his father and he ensured that everyone knew it.
We need to learn to be more like David. Yes the world is going to do us great injustices but that does not mean that we have the right to go out and let the whole world know just how we have been mistreated. Instead, God has a direction for our lives and we have a duty to God to control our tongue. It is easy to use our tongue as a sword to tear someone down, but it is hard to control your tongue and encourage others to do the right thing.
James tells us that the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity; so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell (James 3:6). If we do not control our tongue and instead allow it to say what it wants when it wants, then our tongue will lead to our own destruction. However, if we turn our tongue over to God and allow HIM to guide us in what we say, then our tongue can be used of God for great glory.
When Jesus was on trial for his life, HE chose to not answer HIS accusers. Jesus could have opened HIS mouth and defended every word, action, and deed. Jesus could have said so much to absolve HIMSELF of the false accusations that HE was facing. However, Jesus understood that it did not matter what these men said about HIM, what was important was that HE did the will of God. By holding HIS peace, Jesus may have been falsely accused, but that did not prevent HIM from fulfilling the perfect will of God.
Go ahead and demonstrate your lack of wisdom by opening your mouth and uttering whatever you want whenever you want. You are only destroying your reputation and you may cause others to not turn to God in their time of need. If you are loose with your lips, God will hold you accountable for every word that you speak.
Take time every day to add knowledge of the ways of God to your life. Learn to rely upon the strength of God so that you might hold your tongue and not cause further damage to yourself or the kingdom of God. People are watching you and because you claim to be a Christian, you are accountable to God if you demonstrate a lack of wisdom by opening your mouth too much.