Proverbs 19:5 NRSV
A false witness will not go unpunished,
and a liar will not escape.
Our mouths get us into more trouble than most other things, particularly if we are the kind of people who consider ourselves to be moral. I mean, we would never consider shooting someone or punching them out. But it’s nothing to gossip about them with a co-worker in a hidden corner. Rather than express our anger and fear to someone else, we need to learn how to pray.
Often we think that our perception, our judgment is true, but we fail to gather all the facts. In fact, we can’t gather all the facts because we aren’t with that other person 24/7. So when we make critical remarks about them, the odds are greater that what we are saying is a lie than the truth. Their motivations may be far different than what we think they are.
Just yesterday something happened to one of my students and I went spouting off again rather than simply allowing the Lord to speak to me about what to do. Later in the evening, the Holy Spirit revealed to me a solution that wasn’t harmful to anyone and yet may clear the way to also provide necessary services to the student.
If only I’d waited to see what the Lord could and would do.
I think we often talk in anger or fear because we don’t really trust the Lord to work in that situation. Yes, we know He is all powerful and can do anything, but I think we often believe—down in the smallest recesses of our hearts—that likely He’s not interested in this situation. The fact is, He’s interested in anything and everything that touches our character! He loves us! And will give us the wisdom to walk through any situation if we only trust Him and ask Him.