Chattering Fool

 

    I don't know about you, but sometimes I can be a chattering fool. I feel the need to fill the void in conversations, especially with people I don't know well, or when I am nervous. Much of the time I come away from those moments, wishing I could erase my words from the participants' minds, never to be remembered or spoken of again. 

    Proverbs 10 has a lot to say about why lack of constraint when talking (or foolish chatter) can lead a person to a multitude of problems: 

    Verse 8: The wise in heart accept commands, but a chattering fool comes to ruin.

    Verse 10: Whoever winks maliciously causes grief, and a chattering fool comes to ruin.

    Verse 11: The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

    Verse 14: The wise store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin.

    Verse 18: Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips and spreads slander is a fool.

    Verse 19: Sin is not ended by multiplying words, but the prudent hold their tongues.

    Verse 21: The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of sense. 

    Those lines sum up the issues with too many words and not enough wisdom and knowledge. Simply said, "a chattering fool comes to ruin" (Proverbs 10: 8,10 NIV). What are the reasons for their ruin? It appears that they "wink" at evil, "conceal violence," lack knowledge, "spread slander," and lack sense. They have "lying lips" and "multiplying words." It reminds me of the saying, "The more you lie, the more you have to lie, to cover up your lies." 

    As with most things, when speaking, "less is best." We would do well to learn to be better listeners, and spend less time talking. We would gain wisdom, since we already know what is in our heads; we could learn by hearing what others are thinking. Then when we did speak, we could be those that "nourish many."    

James 3:9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God's likeness.

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