No Belching!

As a young boy growing up in a house full of girls, I was often reprimanded with the refrain, “Don’t belch, and if you do at least say excuse me!”, or “That’s so gross”, or “Stop put that down”…okay, that last one was usually when I was into something that I shouldn’t have been, but you get the picture.  Belching is commonly thought of in our culture as a disgusting thing that one should be embarrassed about if he does it in polite company.  But, I’ve realized that there are a lot of people out there belching all over the place, and they NEVER say excuse me:

The tongue of the wise makes knowledge appealing, but the mouth of the fool belches out foolishness – Proverbs 15:2

Have you ever been around someone that, well for lack of a better description, “…belches out foolishness”?  Their words drip with the stench of lack of knowledge, integrity, or wisdom.  These people spew their ‘opinions’ that are not based in fact or in personal discovery.  King Solomon calls these people fools.  But, thankfully, Solomon also offers a way out of being seen as a fool:

Even fools are thought wise when they keep silent, with their mouths shut they seem intelligent. – Proverbs 17:28 NLT

If you find yourself rambling on this week yet not saying all that much, take a deep breath, close your mouth, and let everyone around you think you’re brilliant!  Silence is sometimes the wisest thing you can say.