The Bible Edge
Everyone needs an Edge, Believers can have the Bible Edge
Proverbs 29:11
A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.
Bob Eubanks was the longtime host of the Newlywed Game during an interview he said something like this, “Young couples would tell their most intimate and private secrets to the whole world just to win a washer and dryer.” In other words, they would utter all their mind. There is an old phrase that goes like this: “I’ll give them a piece of my mind.” But usually, it goes far beyond a piece, it is everything in their mind unloaded all at once. Someone once said, “Be careful of giving away a piece of your mind, for you only have so many pieces.” Anger is not always the reason for this ailment. Sometimes it is something more subtle. It is something that will destroy relationships.
There are those that all they can speak about is whatever they want to speak about. They go on and on and on with no regard to the listener. Their point of view, what happened to them, what they feel about a matter, whatever is on their mind they must speak. They wear people out with their words. You know people like this, you know when you see them that you will seldom get a word in edgewise for they will monopolize the conversation. It’s like all they think about is themselves, so that must be all you think about too. They love to hear themselves talk.
They don’t ask questions. They don’t extend to you the same courtesy they themselves want. They simply utter their whole mind. This happens so often in business. Individuals sometimes share too much, at the wrong time, and in the wrong setting. By uttering all their mind, they give too much information. It is a rare person indeed that can hold their tongue and not utter all, all the time.
An interesting person is not one that utters all. An interesting person is one who holds something in reserve, maintains some mystique, and knows when and how much to speak. When they do speak, they often raise a question to the listener, then they listen intently and interestingly.
I do not know where I heard it but a piece of advice that I always try to live by is this. “If you talk about yourself all the time, people will think you a bore. If you ask questions and listen, people will think that you are a great conversationalist.” Over many years of observation and of meeting new people I agree with that statement. People love to talk about themselves. Get them to talk and they will think you a great conversationalist. But know this, the one that utters all their mind all the time is a fool. That is a Bible Edge worth considering, for it is always useful to know who is wise and who is foolish.
William Howe, Ph.D.
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