Watch your words and hold your tongue;
you’ll save yourself a lot of grief. (The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 21, Verse 23, The Message, BibleGateway.com)
Facing the run up to the holidays, I think of times in family and work gatherings where certain of my words would have better gone unspoken. So I’ll try to listen lots more than I talk over the next few weeks. I’d like to generate no futile dust-ups between now and the New Year, and thereafter, of course.
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry . . . (The Epistle of James, Chapter 1, Verse 19, New International Version, BibleGateway.com)
Wishing you quick ears, a slow tongue, and a slow fuse as you head toward the festivities. And the clear head of sobriety:
Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler;
whoever is led astray by them is not wise. (The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 20, Verse 1, New International Version, BibleGateway.com)