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Undoubtedly you know someone who just cannot stop talking—just a real motor mouth. We all know people like that. Do you like to be with them? Probably not that much. But talking too much is more than just an irritating bad habit. We need to see what God has to say about talking too much.
Proverbs 17:27 says a man of knowledge uses words with restraint, and a few verses later it tells us that a fool delights in airing his own opinions, and that it is shameful for a person to answer before listening.
How much do you talk versus how much you listen? James tells us to be quick to listen and slow to speak, but if you’re like me, you may find it much easier to be quick to speak and slow to listen! Do you think God is sending us a message by giving us two ears and one mouth, telling us that we need to listen twice as much as we talk?
Proverbs 20:19 says to avoid a person who talks too much. Why? Because they’re shooting off their deadly weapon all the time, and you could get hit. Abundance of words leads to sin. Proverbs 10:19 says when words are many, sin is not absent. Have you noticed that if you just keep talking long enough, pretty soon you’ll say something you shouldn’t? Do you have a reputation for talking all the time? Then chances are you say much that is inappropriate, because many words lead to sin.
In Matthew 12:36 Jesus said, “But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.” Think about giving an account for all your careless words. Little scary, isn’t it? Talking too much is not a laughing matter, or just an irritating bad habit, but rather something we should take quite seriously.
WORDS! They are very powerful things. Sticks and stones may break our bones, but words can do far more harm than a few broken bones. You know, once you speak words, you can never un-speak them. You can erase with a pencil or delete from your computer, but once those words are spoken, they cannot be unsaid.
It’s really difficult to heal the damage done by careless words, so check it out and eliminate some of those excess, unnecessary words that so frequently get you into trouble.