Americans seem by many standards to be the world s greatest talkers. They talk all the time as if they have something to say, but, in fact, they may well be some of the most shallow thinking and acting people in the world. And now that the cellular phone has taken over, we have accentuated our frequent crudeness. It is as if we cannot keep our tongues in our mouths. We must talk and say that insignificant nothing that is bubbling in us. 

And as garrulous as Americans are, so is the behavior of far too many Christians. We talk and talk about nothing and cannot seemingly govern our mouths. Yet the scripture is replete with admonitions to keep our mouths and be quiet. Indeed, the words of many Christians  mouth are like a strong wind that is, unfortunately, going in the wrong direction. [Job 8:2] Our words issue no light or heat, but we talk anyway with long columns of no value. 

Some time ago I wrote a sermon entitled, Mouth Love Ain t No Love At All!  It was the prophet Isaiah who wrote that with their mouths they show much love, but their hearts are far from God. And it is this type of love many Christians show toward God and others: Mouth love. But anyone can show love if it is merely words of love and not the deeds of love. Many Christians only exhibit the easy form of love, and if love becomes costly, that is, more than a mere expression of love, then love will never be shown. 

We as Christians have taken on almost every aspect of worldly behavior and yet call ourselves Christians. From the pulpit to the pews, Christians have imitated the world. Yet we are supposed to be the model of how the world should be, not the reverse as the situation is today. 

Preachers have taken on preaching styles of worldly entertainers, not the apostles. I asked a brother preacher a rhetorical question to make a point, namely, if he thought apostle Peter or Paul preached as these preachers preach today? And that unenlightened brother actually said yes. Satan has so infested the ranks of the ministers that they sound like the word, preach like the world, think like the world and behave just like the world.  The most unenlightened ministers among us think that God s people should buy them expensive cars, clothing, homes and all the things of this worldly leadership has because the world s icons and leaders have worldly possessions. But they are of the world. * 

We have taken on the mantel and cloak of the world in many ungodly ways. One such  way that stands out is the saints  incessant and insignificant chatter. Today, most saints have no power or mystery of God in them because they are busily talking it away. The mystery of the Christian wife is gone because she is busily telling the world and other once-saved saints that she has no depth in God and can be easily overthrown by the devil. And, peradventure, she is a looker, chances are that garrulous woman, though she be a wife to some poor man, has already been overthrown by the devil in some man whose practice it is to lead silly women captured and laden with sin.[2 Tim. 3:6] 

We have talker-saints who made spectacles of themselves by running their mouths, as the expression is, in total contravention to God s word. These talkers cannot seemingly be stopped in their meaningless chatter. Yet the Bible says to guard/keep one s heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. [Prov. 4:23] And with the mouth one speaks his entire heart. 

No man or woman can ever learn if he/she is always talking. A person cannot learn anything from himself, only of himself. Whereas that bit of information (Knowledge of himself) may be of some import, it is miniscule by comparison to the other vast knowledge one should acquire. And the knowledge that one acquires will change that person you once knew into something else, better and greater. That is why it is essential that we grow in grace and of the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the acquisition of knowledge; failure to acquire knowledge means that God s people will be destroyed by God. [Hos. 4] 

But far too many Christians have opened their mouths and offered no wisdom, and while they frequently opened their mouths to speak, they learned nothing. No one can talk constantly and frequently and have something to say. It was Samuel Johnson, the great English writer, who stopped writing for a time, saying that he had given everything he knew and he stopped because he had to go back and learn more that he would have more to give. Many preachers and Christians have not learned that lesson; they have learned all the world styles and pleasures of the world but not that they should quiet themselves at certain points and learn. 

A preacher brother said to me one day, as I went to my job: All you have to do was get up and teach.  I was surprised because he should have known that teaching requires continual learning in order to teach. Indeed, a preacher/teacher is no better a teacher than he is a student, and any teacher must constantly and continually be a student. But the talker never sees that he should have something of significance to offer to those he is talking to. 

If a talker were to ever slow down, he would have a chance to learn. But because he will not stop talking, he cannot learn. So the many words of a fool (one who refuses to learn because he cannot stop talking long enough for that quiet process to occur) come to nothing because they are of no significance. He is unlearned and carnal because he will not weary his flesh in study. [Ecc. 12:12] 

The mouthy Christian is a disgrace before God because he vocally says he is a Christian, but by his many words he shows that he violates God s word. Instead of guarding his heart, he opens his mouth frequently and shows that his heart is not right toward God.

The scripture is plain, we are to have our speech be with grace and seasoned with salt. [Col. 4:6] Jesus said that our communication should be yes and no, and beyond that we get into too many words and sin. [Mat. 5:37] 

Saints are told to study to be quiet; [1 Th.4:11] for many who came from the world and had talking spirits, they need to consciously practice not talking until that conscious practice becomes the habit of having a quiet spirit and mouth. As we are quiet long enough, we can hear God s voice speaking to us through his word and in the things he has made. With today s loudness and crudeness, we cannot hear God and we cannot possess a meek and quiet spirit. [1Pet 3:4]

That mouthy saint is a foolish woman, whether male of female; Solomon said that a foolish woman is clamorous; she is simple and knows nothing. How could she know anything? She is too busy talking and offering nothing and learning nothing. She is imbibing the intoxicant of talking; it is a drug to her; she prefers talking to breathing. For this foolish woman, talk is oxygen she must have. This scripture also means that one who is clamorous is foolish, hence the talker can be man or woman. [Prov. 9:13] 

A wife who is a talker shames her husband, as she undresses the issues of her heart and her mystery before others through her mouth. Anyone can readily sees that such a one is a fool, someone who will speak his/her whole heart, and that is a shame and embarrassment to her husband. [Prov. 29:11 

I was trimming my lawn some months ago and a neighbor s wife was out talking, and as she did, she told of things in her marriage that are best kept private between them. They were not bad things; they were things that were supposed to be private things, yet she was liberally sharing them without shame. That poor wife would give away the treasure of her house because her actions were those of a foolish woman.

There are many Christians in the church who have not grown in wisdom and have not matured. They still think they are the once-cute young women or handsome young men whom society allows great excesses and wordiness because of cuteness, so they chatter on with meaningless and needless drivel. But Paul said as an example to us that when he became a man, he put away childish things. [1Cor. 13] And many of these childish saints need to put away their frequent words and study to be quiet until there is something of significance they have to say. Mature saints learn to govern our tongues, instead of our tongues governing us.

  Whereas a fool is known by the multitude of his words, a saint is known by the fewness of his words, and by the grace with which they are spoken, and the insight that they impart. [Prov. 10:14] Saints are slow to speak and swift to hear, and being quick to hear, that person learns. [James 1:19]  That person who is quick to speak learns nothing and will always be a servant to the wise. [Prov.11:29]  Many saints have no idea that their incessant talking is not pleasing to God but in direct opposition to God s word and may be one of the reasons they have no standing with God, they hear no word from God and cannot bring themselves to studying God s word or anything else that adds to their  fullness of the statue of Christ. Said simply, they talk too much and add too little by their words. 

Job, when surrounded by men who talked too much and added too little to the light of Job s situation, he asked them to lower their volume of chatter. He said that they were all forgers of lies, physicians of no value, and if they would altogether hold their peace, that would be their wisdom. [Job 12:4-5] That is what many saints need to do because they have become physicians of no value; they cannot heal anyone. 

Saints  must fashion their words so that they and the meditations of their hearts are acceptable in the sight of God. That means they need to study to be quiet so they can hear what God says instead of asserting themselves.

Home