Have you ever wished for a built-in button that would prevent you from speaking too hastily? Such a button does exist on the TV show Jeopardy. Hasty contestants are prevented from answering a question until the game show host has read the entire clue. In the early days of the show, contestants could ring in at any time, and that led to many quick guesses, negative scores, and general confusion. Now, as a preventative measure, an offstage staff member activates the contestants’ signaling devices and allows them to answer the question on time.

Or have you ever wished for a maximum gift message length like Amazon has when writing a note to a gift recipient? Amazon only allows so many characters, and if you exceed the limit, your email cannot be sent. Amazon’s limit control causes me to think about which words matter most and to make my words count before I send a note to whoever is receiving a gift from me.

While I have never been a contestant on Jeopardy, I have attempted to “signal in too soon” when having a conversation with someone else. I have attempted to finish other people’s sentences, and the result is rarely pretty. Regardless of how well people know each other, hastily completing sentences usually ends in incorrect completion of thoughts, feelings of being rushed and not heard, and hurt feelings. Oh, that I had a button that would enable me to speak at just the right time!

Finishing people’s thoughts is one way to be hasty with our words. Answering a question before you have heard it in its entirety is another way. Speaking before thinking about what you will say is yet another. And Solomon, in all his wisdom, said there is more hope for a fool than a man who is hasty in his words.

Do you see a man who is hasty in his words?
    There is more hope for a fool than for him. – Proverbs 29:20

Unlike Amazon, I do not have a maximum gift message device that would prevent me from sending too many, and perhaps unnecessary, words. And once my message is sent, there is no delete button available to rescind my email.

Since we do not have built-in devices that prevent our hasty words, we would do well to remember the words of Proverbs 18:13 – “If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.”, and to follow the advice of James 1:19 – “…let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger…”. And since we do not have a built-in word guard, we would do well to remember Proverbs 10:19 – “When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.”

While we may not have these built-in devices that slow down or curb our speech, we have Someone much better. If we are believers, we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the promptings and conviction that He brings to our hearts before we speak.

And we can also practice the wisdom of dwelling on the right thoughts, so that our hearts are full of good thoughts that will be expressed with our mouths. After all, it’s been said, “What’s down in the well comes up in the bucket!” Or better said, Luke 6:45 –

The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, or out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

The challenge is, how do we know what thoughts we should be dwelling on? Philippians 4: 8 gives us great guidance –

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think on these things.

The acronym, PREPLANT, is a great one to remember as each letter in the word stands for a thought worthy of thinking (pure, right, excellent, praiseworthy, lovely, admirable, noble, and true).

I’ll take “Think Before You Speak” for $200, please, Alex.

Prayer –

Dear Lord, thank you for the power of words and the responsibility that comes with them. Help us to be quick to listen and slow to speak, guiding our hearts to filter our thoughts through grace before they reach our lips. Grant us the wisdom to pause and consider our words before speaking. Help us to focus on what we are thinking about, reading, or watching so that our hearts may be filled with good things. May our words build up, bring healing, and reflect Your love, rather than harm or hasten. Amen.