A Piece of Your Mind | Liberty at Home

I'm going to give you a piece of my mind on this week's edition

of Liberty at Home. Welcome back, Pastor Adam Rivero

here with another episode of Liberty at Home brought to you

by the church that pastor, the Liberty Baptist Church here in

Easton. Today, as always, we're

broadcasting from Easton Community Access Television, the

only news organization covering Easton news.

And you really ought to watch the weekly Easton news

broadcast. They do a great job.

But that being said, let's get to this program today, which

we're on the 29th chapter of Proverbs.

So we'll be reading both the 11th and the 22nd verses which

say this, A fool uttereth all his mind, but a wise man keepeth

it in till afterwards. And then verse 22, an angry man

stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in

transgression. Doesn't it feel good to give

someone a piece of your mind? That aggravating neighbor that

uses their leaf blower before 7:00 in the morning?

That customer service Rep on the phone that tells you how

important your business is, all while ignoring your concerns?

Or that guy in the car in front of you going 15 miles an hour

under the speed limit? Look, they'll have it coming,

right? And let's be honest, there's

something instantly gratifying about giving someone a piece of

your mind. Like a hit, a dopamine that

rewards you for running your mouth.

In fact, I'd argue that there are times that it feels like

it's the only course of action to give someone a piece of your

mind. It was Mark Twain who famously

said when you're mad, it's better to give a piece of your

mind than a piece of your fist. So really, chewing someone out

isn't a bad thing. It actually is the most

reasonable course of action, right?

Well, no, it's absolutely wrong. Today's text tells us that when

we think the opportunity arises for us to choose someone out,

we'd be much better off holding our tongue.

The first verse we read together said that a fool utters all his

mind, but a wise man keeps it in until afterwards.

While it might feel good letting someone have it, King Solomon

gives us a clear warning that this type of behavior is

counterproductive. As the old saying goes, it's

better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to

open it and remove all doubt. Now listen.

This doesn't mean that the truth should be silenced and that a

Christian should just roll over and play dead when dealing with

a difficult situation. Quite the contrary.

What it does mean, however, is that the wisest course of action

is to make sure your mind and your ears are fully engaged

before your mouth is. To respond to a situation with

irritability or irrationality is the opposite of what we're told

in the Beatitudes. Blessed are the peacemakers, for

they shall be called the children of God.

Now understand this, there are some people who just don't want

peace and that's why Paul said in Romans chapter 12 verse 18,

Romans 12:18

if it'd be possible as much as life in you live peaceably with

all men. That phrase as much as lieth in

you is important because it may not be possible to make peace

with everyone. In fact, verse 22 that we just

read makes reference to these types of angry and furious

people. Yet the Bible commands that we,

on the other hand, can be peaceable people, even if we

have to speak hard or difficult truths that other people don't

want to hear. Is it difficult?

Yes. Can we succeed with God's help?

Absolutely. So the next time you deal with

the doctor's office and it's the fourth time you've talked to

them and they say they've sent the referral to the specialist,

but you know they haven't. You're tired of dealing with

them, and you're pretty sure someone should get fired anyway.

As I was saying, let's listen more than we speak and be more

willing to share a part of our heart with someone than giving

them a piece of our mind. Well, another episode of Liberty

at Home is in the books. But before we go, I want to give

you a weekly reminder that we'd love to have you visit Liberty

Baptist Church this week. We have services on Sundays and

Wednesdays, so there's always a good time for you to visit.

We meet at 800 Washington Street, right across from Easton

Pool and Spa on Route 138. You can also find all of our

digital platforms through our website, mylibertybaptist.org.

Well, this is Pastor Ron Rivera signing off with a reminder that

where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

See you next week for another dose of biblical truth on

liberty at home.