Stop, and Think

Have you ever said something but immediately wished that you hadn’t? Or have you ever done something only to regret doing it immediately or soon afterwards?

This kind of feeling sometimes happens to people who, when they see something, immediately want to buy it, but when they do and they have the thing that they so desperately wanted, soon realize that it wasn’t as good as they thought it was. They are filled with what is commonly known as “buyer’s remorse.” They didn’t stop and think it through.

The same can happen when people speak as well. During the heat of an argument sometimes people will say words that they immediately feel sorry about. They just “slip out” because they spoke too quickly, without taking the wise route and thinking before they spake.

There is a word for these two examples that you just read. Circumspect. This is not a word that many people use today, but it means “carefully aware of all circumstances; considerate of all that is pertinent; cautious, prudent or thoughtful.”

That is how Paul instructed in his letter to the Ephesians that they should live. Ephesians 5:15  “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,”

Just about everything that happens is either a result of of the actions of something else, or it itself causes a reaction. Cause and effect. Stick a match into a flame, and what happens? It starts on fire. Pour water on that flame, and it gets put out. Live in sin, and you will eventually be punished; live in accordance to Christ’s command to love and you will be rewarded. 

When we walk circumspectly, it shows that we are wise. We think about the consequences of our actions before we do something.

Being circumspect is not a quality that Esau showed, was it? When he sold his birthright to Jacob, he didn’t stop and seriously consider what he was giving up. He wanted food “right now” and he foolishly gave up a very important thing for it. Afterwards when he should have received his birthright, he didn’t get it because he had given it away. He was filled with sorrow, but because he hadn’t been circumspect, it was too late.

The same applies to our speech. As I had written earlier, people will sometimes say things hastily without first thinking, and then regret it afterwards. But James wrote that we need to be slow to speak, and swift to hear.

James 1:19  “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:”

The same type of scripture is found in Proverbs 15.

Proverbs 15:1-2  “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.

The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.”

Swift to hear. Slow to speak. Always be ready to listen, and always think before you speak. If you remember, Jesus, when questioned by the Pharisees if they should stone a woman for adultery, didn’t answer immediately. After they continued asking, Jesus eventually gave them their answer, and when He did the Pharisees all became convicted of themselves that they were sinners just as much as the woman. He heard them, but waited to give them their answer until after He had thought for a bit. Jesus showed wisdom, and what it means to be circumspect. 

In everything that we do we need to take a moment and consider the result of our actions. Is what I am about to do loving? Are my words going to help others or are they going to hurt them? Is my life a living example to others that shows the love of Christ? In everything that you do, take a moment, and stop, and think.

In Christ,

Andrew