If you want a happy, good life, keep control of your tongue, and guard your lips from telling lies. Don't talk so much. You keep putting your foot in your mouth. Be sensible and turn off the flow! Only a fool blurts out everything he knows; that only leads to sorrow and trouble. It is pleasant to listen to wise words, but a fool's speech brings him to ruin. Since he begins with a foolish premise, his conclusion is sheer madness. A fool knows all about the future and tells everyone in detail! But who can really know what is going to happen? A fool does not delight in understanding, but only in revealing his own mind. A wise man doesn't display his knowledge, but a fool displays his foolishness. A wise man thinks ahead; a fool doesn't, and even brags about it! He who gives an answer before he hears, it is folly and shame to him.
   A gossip goes around spreading rumors, while a trustworthy man tries to quiet them. He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates intimate friends. A fool's lips bring strife, and his mouth calls for blows. A fool's mouth is his ruin, and his lips are the snare of his soul. The words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels, and they go down into the innermost parts of the body.
   Dear brothers, don't be too eager to tell others their faults, for we all make many mistakes . . . If anyone can control his tongue, it proves that he has perfect control over himself in every other way. We can make a large horse turn around and go wherever we want by means of a small bit in his mouth. So also the tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do.
   The wise man's words are like goads that spur to action. They nail down important truths. Students are wise who master what their teachers tell them. But, my son, be warned: there is no end of opinions ready to be expressed. Studying them can go on forever, and become very exhausting! The words of a man's mouth are deep waters; the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook . . . The quiet words of a wise man are better than the shout of a king of fools.

Taken from I Pt. 3, Pr. 10, Ec. 10, Pr. 18, 12, 13, 11, 17, Jas. 3, Ecc. 12, 9, The Living
Bible and The New American Standard. For free Lifescope book, write to Box 1575,
Carlsbad, NM 88221. Please send $1.00 for postage and handling.