3 Things To Learn From Awkward Interactions – Pt. 3

Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

Proverbs 17:27-28 ESV

From Jordan:

This is part three in the series, 3 Things To Learn From Awkward Interactions. If you missed parts one or two, you can begin here.

3. We genuinely mean well, but we’re all prone to say silly things.

Sometimes, we just say stupid stuff and that’s okay, because on occasion, we’re all going to say or do silly things. If we handle them rightly, though, they become exercises in humility, self-control, and wisdom.

As Proverbs 17:28 tells us, even the “fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.”

This act of restraining, of holding something in rather than unleashing it on the world, flows from knowledge.

It displays an understanding that we don’t always have something to add to the conversation, and that, too, is okay.

Humility and wisdom each spring from the same root: the fear of God (Proverbs 1:1-7).

When we fear God rightly, we understand ourselves better.

Fearing God doesn’t only mean cowering in the fetal position beneath a desk, but possessing a healthy reverence, awe, and respect for him.

It means understanding he’s in a place of preeminence and sovereignty, whether we acknowledge this fact or not. In turn, we understand ourselves from a theocentric (God-centered) perspective, rather than an anthropocentric (man-centered) perspective.

This is crucial, because we are made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27), which means we can only be properly understood in relation to the Creator as his special creation.

This produces humility and is the starting place for wisdom.

When we reflect honestly about the motivations beneath our behavior, we grow as people; even in seemingly small ways.

]Join me in thinking before speaking. Our words and how we say them matter.

Why? Because people matter.

This series is adapted from a post originally appearing on Jordan’s blog, which you can follow here.