John C. Maxwell
The prudent hold their tongues.
Most people recognize that words
have incredible power.
Editor and theologian Tyron Edwards observed,
"Words are both better and worse than thoughts;
they express them, and add to them;
they give them power for good or evil;
they start them on an endless flight,
for instruction and comfort and blessing,
or for injury, sorrow and ruin."
But saying the right words is not enough.
Timing is crucial.
Sometimes the best thing we can do
for someone else is to hold our tongue.
When tempted to give advice that's not wanted, to show off, to say "I told you so,"
or to point out another's error,
the best policy is to say nothing.
As nineteenth-century British journalist
George Sala advised,
we should strive
"not only to say the right thing
in the right place,
but far more difficult,
to leave unsaid the wrong thing
at the tempting moment."
* * *
Use discernment in choosing your words
their timing today is maturity in action.