Proverbs 10:8. The wise of heart will receive commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin.
Do you talk too much? Are you a babbler? A babbler is someone who talks all the time and usually about things that aren’t helpful. Or even worse, the babbler talks when they should be listening.
One of the big themes in the Proverbs is that you can tell a fool by what they say. The wise person knows when to stop talking and start listening, but the fool just can’t be quiet long enough to hear what they need to hear. This fool is hard of heart, wanting only to hear themselves and not others. Their pride keeps them from receiving any kind of god counsel.
Solomon warns that the babbling fool will come to ruin. The babbler ultimately destroys their own life. By not listening they never learn. They never grow. They can never demonstrate care and concern for others. In the end, no one wants to be around a babbler and so their relational life has come to ruin.
The opposite of the babbler is the wise heart who receives commands. Unlike the babbler, this person wants to be taught the right ways, God’s ways. They have a quiet and teachable spirit. In the New Testament, James says something similar to Solomon:
James 1:19. Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;
These three exhortations are not disconnected. Quick to hear inevitably makes us slow to speak. The wise heart listens far more than they talk, and this is the cure for anger. The more we listen to others, understanding where they are coming from, asking good questions, trying to know them on a personal level, the less we will feel anger toward them and their ideas.
Does this kind of relational listening sound too difficult to you? Does holding your tongue seem like an impossible task? It’s not. But it does require mind renewal. It requires a mind that is content with who you are in Christ. In Christ we can become truly humble listeners and students of other people. Why? Because in him we no longer have to practice self-promotion. We no longer have to be our own lawyer, our own public defender. In Christ we have the love and respect of the Father already. There’s no one left to impress. So let’s close our mouths, open our ears, and listen to the hearts of others, allowing God to open up our hearts to them free from all anger and selfish pride.
You: Do you talk too much?
You in Christ: How does knowing who we are in Christ allow us to talk less and listen more?
Christ in you: Christ constantly withdrew and prayed to the Father. How might talking to the Father more allow you to talk at others less?
Pray: Father, you listen to my incessant babbling, and love me anyway. Teach me to talk less and listen more as I grow in your love for me, and my love for others. Amen.
To Live is Christ 