Pondering How To Answer

Proverbs 15:28
The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.

I hated every time my parents had to go to parent-teacher conferences at school. I was about a strait C student. My parents would always come home and tell me the same thing year after year, "Son, all of your teachers told us the same thing, 'Scott has so much potential, but he talks too much'".

This sin I carried with me all the way until I was 32 years old. My wife and I became Christians during the same period of time, we were both 30. When my wife was saved, she was given a special gift of discernment. She was able to distinguish between good and evil very easily. I, on the other hand was not given this same gift. Any discernment I have now has come slowly over time, through study, and listening and reading discerning people. 

Here is how this story is relevant to Proverbs 15:28. At about 32, I was convicted that my mouth was spilling out a constant flow of information. It was a mixture of truth, half truths, and falsehood. My wife, who was slow to speak, and very discerning; started asking me to prove to her some of the things I was claiming were true, when she did not think they were. I was not able to do so, and began to come under conviction for my sin. I went through a stage after this when I hardly spoke to anyone. I despised my mouth, and hated that it was uncontrolled like a wild stallion.  My friends noticed and told me that it was wrong for me to not speak. What was wrong, was that I was quick to speak, and what I spoke was a fruit salad mixture of truth and falsehood. 

By Gods grace I have begun to learn that a righteous man ponders how to answer. He ponders the thoughts in his mind before they come out of his mouth. I do speak now, but have learned to be quicker to listen, and slower to answer. Praise God for His Spirit who sanctifies, His Word that councils, and His Son who lived, died, and rose to forgive the sin of my mouth.