AGAINST CONVENTIONAL WISDOM
PROVERBS 29:11
PROVERBS 29:11 NKJV
11 A fool vents all his feelings,
But a wise man holds them back.
OBSERVATION:
Conventional means something based on what is generally done or believed. When you say something is considered conventional wisdom, heads will nod. However, the scriptures often go against conventional wisdom.
So here is a belief that falls under the category of conventional wisdom. When it comes to feelings and emotions, don't hold them back; let it all out. This is pretty much accepted as truth. But simply because something is accepted and believed does not make it true.
This proverb says that a foolish person vents all his feelings. A foolish person does not hold his feelings and emotions in check. He lets them out. He just vents. After all it’s just words.
But a wise person holds them back and does not vent. Keeping emotions and feelings back has never been considered as wise. And yet that is exactly what the scriptures say.
Somehow, we have made the determination that holding our feelings and emotions in is bad for us. Holding back has been treated as if you were holding in toxic waste.
What we have not considered is that yielding to the urges of our fleshly nature is not letting things out. It is actually letting things in.
If we believe that death and life are in the power of the tongue (
Proverbs 18:21), then why would we ever spew negative words and feelings out of our mouths.
In
Proverbs 20:23, the wisdom of God tells us that if we will keep our mouth, we will keep our soul from trouble.
These are just a few of the scriptures that address what comes out of our mouth. Letting it out is not God's wisdom. Holding back on expressing our feelings is the key to not letting negatives in.
PRAYER:
Dear Lord, help me to guard my mouth. I want to make sure that what I am saying is planting seeds for good.