My Big Mouth (Part 2)

Apologies to those expecting a post yesterday. I had intended to continue this story, but something came up, which I plan to mention sometime next week, so keep looking to this blog Monday through Friday. Until then enjoy…

Have you ever seen a movie that had monks in it that have taken vows of silence, and you think, “Hmmm, wonder what that would be like? Probably hard I bet, but then again, what do you have to talk about when you are in a monastery?”

Maybe you think like me, maybe you don’t, but I had thought on more than one occasion that, “If I ever get a chance to go a significant time without talking it would surely prove to be an interesting experience.” Of course how does one in the adult world, full of jobs and responsibility pull off something like that? How much longer would it be before that idea would be permanently filed away as just that, an “idea”? I would soon graduate, start a summer internship, interview for real jobs, before I know it the opportunity to do such an intense exercise may not come up again for years. I quickly realized that there truly was no time better than the present to do this, so I made a vow for the next week, printed up a letter to carry around with me, and prepared myself to learn.

Well, it didn’t take long before the learning kicked in. Sunday passed and Monday morning came, along with another opportunity to honor our senior class. This time it was a ministry students club that met once a month in our cafeteria. This month’s meeting was designed to let our graduates share memories and advice, and for the class to lay hands in prayer on us in an act of commission. Despite some goading by fellow students and a professor I had kept my mouth shut and stuck to my commitment not to speak, but it was apparent that not everyone else had the same conviction over the weekend as me. Just about every student that spoke said something that was less than appropriate or affirming, and if anything made me want to lay some hands on them in aggravation. These were ministry students, our next batch of leaders in the world, and they were embarrassing themselves in front of classmates and teachers.

The great American writer Mark Twain once said, “It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.” While this quote is quite humorous I feel it best describes how I felt that day towards myself and my fellow students. While I was still getting flack from people about my discipline practice (my roommates had started calling me the “Wordless Wonder”), I was resting in the fact that my integrity still stood where others had fallen. I shouldn’t have been surprised to discover that conviction and self control gets mocked by fools in our world, after all Jesus did coin that “pearls before swine” thing, but it was awful to see it coming from aspiring Christian leaders.

And here is where I truly learned my first leadership lesson from this experience…

"Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something." – Plato

…I know this phrase has had various renditions over the years, and I’m not sure if Plato is the originator, but boy is it ever true. It really is a litmus test for deriving whether someone is a real leader or just a loud mouth. That morning gave me a wake up, a reason to keep pursuing this life free of ensnarement by my words, but it wasn’t until later that I discovered exactly how I could be successful in doing so.

And that’s where I am going to leave you all until next week. Have a great weekend, and be on the lookout for Monday’s free ministry tool give away!