Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips. Psalm 141:3
“How incalculably would the tone of conversation be improved, if we would make it a rule
never to speak of a man’s virtues to his face, nor of his faults behind his back; the observance of which would at once banish flattery and defamation from the earth. Conversation being a joint and common property, everyone should take a share in it; and yet there may be societies in which silence will be our best contribution.”
Horace Smith (1779–1849) a British humorist often known by his pen name, Paul Chatfield, in Day’s Collacon, compiled and arranged by Edward Parsons Day (New York: IPPO, 1884) 133.
When I was in Czech Republic last week, I learned one of their rich sayings. “To speak is silver; to be silent is gold.” How often do we offer silver when gold could be richly dispensed?
It requires great discipline. The Psalmwriter cries out to the Lord to put a watch and guard on his lips. What if each of us did this? Today, let’s consider how silence might be our best contribution.