Adorned by words

11-12 The right word at the right time
   is like a custom-made piece of jewelry,
And a wise friend's timely reprimand
   is like a gold ring slipped on your finger.
(Proverbs 25:11-12)

Is anyone out there like me when it comes to "speaking before thinking"?  I find myself opening my mouth and words just "come out" that would have been better off not said!  Sometimes more frequently than I'd like to admit, my words are less than kind, cutting, or sarcastic - opening wide the door for misinterpretation and hurt.

Our writer reminds us that the "right word" at the "right time" is like a custom-made piece of jewelry.  I have some friends that are really into jewelry and they have wonderful pieces that have a genuinely "original" appeal to them.  They live for the "find" of that one piece that will compliment their wardrobe with that "unique" look they desire.  They make jewelry look so awesome just by how they "pair" it with their wardrobe.  If I tried to wear that same jewelry, it would look silly with my wardrobe!  Why?  Because it was not designed to be worn by me!

The right word is something that is designed - it is prepared deep in the heart and comes forth in the right time.  Seldom is the "right word" what we are "feeling" at that moment.  In fact, if we'd take our feelings out of some of our communication, we might not speak all that we do!  If we'd seek God for the right words in the right timing, we might not have so many relationship struggles!  

Timing is everything - right?  There is such wisdom in being sensitive to the issues at hand, aware of the challenges faced at a particular juncture in our relationships, and in being intuitive about the way the event have affect the other person.  Did you ever notice just how God waits until we are ready to hear something before he speaks to us about it?  That is by design - he knows the ears are connected to the heart!  If our heart is open, our ears will be, too.

I am surrounded by wise friends!  I probably do not thank God as often as I should for those he has placed in my life.  I guess if we go back to the illustration I used above, they are like that perfect piece of jewelry that compliments the wardrobe of my life!  Their words are cherished because they are spoken in a way that "adorns" my life with beauty when they are embraced by hearing ears (in other words, I "wear them well" after hearing them!).

How about this as a challenge for our day:

The next time you sit to have a conversation with someone, determine to make the words you speak something that will "adorn" their lives with the exact thing that will enunciate the beauty of their lives!

It may surprise you how much those "adorning" words spoken in the right time bring out the unique beauty of Christ in their lives!

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