Knowing when not to speak makes life smoother

Saying the right thing at the right time is a lot more difficult than saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. But, even more difficult than that is not saying anything.

I imagine most of us find ourselves in that situation from time to time. Someone says something and we want to respond. There are those who just blurt out anything that comes into their mind without regard for how that will affect the relationship in the long run. That has a kind of cathartic effect, but it can be disastrous for any ongoing interaction.

I'm reminded of the story about two ducks and a frog who lived together in a farm pond and got along quite well. They had lots of fun playing together in the water. When the hot summer days came, however, and the pond began to dry up, it was evident they would have to move. The ducks could fly to another pond, so it wasn't a problem for them, but the frog was stuck. They decided that each of the ducks would put the end of a stick in each bill and the frog could just hang onto the stick with his mouth as they flew to another pond. Everything went as planned, that is, until a farmer looked up and said, "What a clever idea! I wonder who thought of it?" The frog said, "I did..."

Jesus suggested that we treat others as we would like to be treated. Now, if we could just put that into practice when it comes to knowing when to be quiet and when to speak, it would certainly make life less confrontational and each day would flow much more smoothly.