To speak or not to speak . . .


Proverbs 23:9--"Speak in the ears . . ." Recently, I noticed this phrase. It implies an intimacy--of friendship, of love, of trust, of hope. When we want to share something important, especially in a loud environment, we get close to someone's ear.

It also means fools can be close to us. People we work with, are friends with, in our families. Despite our willingness to invest in them, they disdain our words of wisdom, hope, faith, or joy. They may be close to us in proximity, but they may not be close to us in heart.

Does this mean we don't speak those words of wisdom, faith, or hope? That we determine who is a fool?

Within the context of Scripture, we are called to speak the words of eternal that come from our Messiah (John 6:68). We just have to be careful of our expectations, what their response will be. We must be wise.

There's a term in business called Return on Investment (ROI). ROI measures the amount of return on an investment relative to the investment's cost. If the return is higher than the investment, the ROI is considered profitable.

For many years I treated my investment in others as a business deal. Once my investment "costed" me more than the return, I stopped. But, that is not my decision. Only GOD knows what the ROI is. Only He can determine when my investment is no longer needed.

The only way I will know if I've hit that point is through His wisdom, discernment, and knowledge. On the surface it may appear that I should quit--that there is no future profitability. But, GOD sees the future. That's why we must follow His lead. And that's a good thing no matter what we do.

May we speak wisdom in obedience to GOD's leading, my friends.

Proverbs 23:9--Do not speak in the ears of a fool, for he will disdain the wisdom of your words. Tree of Life Bible Society Tree of Life Version - TLV #tlvbible #tlvproverbs
[WATCH Tree of Life Bible Society's CEO, Daniah Greenberg and me, Terri Gillespie dig a little deeper with this proverb. Check us out at Tree of Life Bible Society, Monday through Friday, LIVE at 8:30am EST. Watch previous episodes there as well. Stay wise, my friends!]

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