The Plumbline

A soft and gentle and thoughtful answer turns away wrath, but harsh and painful and careless words stir up anger. The tongue of the wise speaks knowledge that is pleasing and acceptable, but the [babbling] mouth of fools spouts folly. The eyes of the Lord are in every place, watching the evil and the good [in all their endeavors]. A soothing tongue [speaking words that build up and encourage] is a tree of life, but a perversive tongue [speaking words that overwhelm and depress] crushes the spirit. (Proverbs 14:1-4) Just in case no one has ever told you this before, putting 'thought' into your words might take a bit more time, but it sure does a lot to improve your relationships. Think before you speak - words to live by, but harder to put into practice than one might imagine. If you are a 'babbler' - just talking and talking - then you likely have fallen prey to the traps all that babbling can create in your life. If you are a 'spouter' - saying the first thing ...