(26) She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
I'm a Jane Austen fanatic. I'm reading all her books, and as I read them, I'm finding out a couple things. One of which is this: The most amusing characters(usually the annoying ones), are the jabbery and stupid (forgive me for being so frank) ones. Mrs Bennet, Lydia Bennet, and Kitty Bennet from Pride and Prejudice, Mrs. Jennings and Mrs Palmer from Sense and Sensibility, Fanny Thornton from North and South (By Elizabeth Gaskell) (And, might I add, she has got to be the most amusing character ever). They all love to talk, talk, talk. But if you were asked what they talk about, you wouldn't be able to answer.
Another thing that I'm noticing is that usually the heroine of each book, generally viewed as virtuous, wise, and a woman to want as a wife, doesn't jabber about pointless things. She puts up with the "jabberers", but we all know that she is tired of them and their pointless talking. She doesn't talk about nothing. Rather, when she opens her mouth, wise words come out. That's what distinguishes her from the other characters. And that's what this verse calls us to do.
The virtuous woman doesn't waste her time gossiping and talking of nothing. When she does speak, it's about things that have meaning and importance. And she never wastes her breath pointlessly dissing others. Rather, she only allows that which will be constructive, useful, and kind leave her mouth.
This particularly challenges me. As any of my family will tell you, I like to state the obvious. "that shirt has a hole in it." "Wow, those lines on the road are bright yellow!". Also, when I don't like somebody, boy, do I let it show. Speaking my mind has run me into trouble a couple times...We all need to learn to guard what comes out of our mouths. Words can be a lot more hurtful than you may think.
No comments:
Post a Comment