Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell, McAlestor, OK
April 12, 2012

“Knowing What to Say and When to Say it.”
“My son, pay attention to my wisdom, listen well to my words of insight, that you may maintain discretion …” – Proverbs 5:1, 2

Key Word - Discreet: "Being tactful...careful not to say or do the wrong thing..."

How often have we heard someone say…”It’s better left unsaid?” “I’ll keep it to myself.” Or we might hear, “let me choose my words carefully.”
If you have not noticed by now everything about Proverbs is about God’s people taking the “high road.” Meaning—doing, acting, saying and even thinking the right thing regardless of what the world may think, say or do. It is with that it is easy to see, then, that unfortunately far too many people do not, "Say what they mean." Consider the following:

"THEY SAY..." could really mean, "I heard it from at least one source, but everybody must believe it."
"IT NEEDS TO BE DONE..." could mean, "I'm not going to do anything about it, but the church ought to."
"I'VE HEARD SOME CRITICISM..." could mean, "I'm against it but I don't have the nerve to state my belief."
"THE WHOLE CHURCH IS UPSET!" could actually means, "Two or three loud mouths have turned loose their venom."
"IF MEMORY SERVES ME RIGHT..." could actually mean, "I'm going to say something I'm not sure of, whether true or false, but if somebody discovers I'm wrong, then I can always blame my memory."
"PREACHER, I WILL BE THERE IF I'M NOT PROVIDENTIALLY HINDERED" nearly always means, "If I'm not there, you can blame God for it."
"I'LL COME EVERY TIME I CAN" mostly means, "If I don't have something better to do I'll be there."
"I WON'T PROMISE, BUT I'LL DO MY BEST" typically means, "Don't expect much out of me."
"I'M STILL STUDYING THE QUESTION" might mean, "I want to stay in a position to agree with both sides."

I think you see what is going on here—it is all about “intention.” The power of discretion is not always about saying the right thing but having “holy” intentions. I know that I cannot always say the right thing. The reason for that is that not everyone will hear what I mean. They will hear what I say but not always perceive it the way it was intended. Just for the record—that is not my fault. But if I do not have any intention to do the right thing or give it my best effort then am I taking the “high road?”
You can take it from there!
Christians should be far more careful to mean what they say and say what they mean than people of the world! (Matthew 5:36-37)
Pastor J. T. Carnell