If I were to identify the number one error I have committed more than any other as a pastor the last twenty years, I would have to talk about imprudence. Proverbs is filled with teaching to cultivate this very rare virtue. I have rushed, reacted, failed to ponder implications of decisions, spoken when it was best to be silent, moved out of anxiety instead of stilling my own soul. I recently studied every verse in Proverbs about prudence and speech. It was both edifying and sobering. The following are a sampling I shared at a recent NLF staff meeting. I commend them to you for your prayerful meditation: The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways -Prov. 14:8 A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps.-Prov. 14:15 The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly. -Prov. 15:14 The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil.-Prov. 15:28 It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way. – Prov. 19:2 The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty. – Prov. 21:5 A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it. – Prov. 22:3 Finish your outdoor work and get your fields ready; after that, build your house.- Prov. 24:27 The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it. Prov. 27:12 When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise. -Prov. 10:19 A man of knowledge uses words with restraint, and a man of understanding is even-tempered. Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue. -Prov. 17:27-28 Do you see a man who speaks in haste, There is more hope for a fool than for him.-Prov. 29:20 Why do you think prudence is such a rare virtue among us today?
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