I Samuel 14:29
“Then Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land. See now, how my eyes have brightened because I tasted a little of this honey.”
Saul was self centered by giving this oath. The next verse says, “How much more, if only the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies which they found! For now the slaughter among the Philistines has not been great”, (v. 30). It was a day to be celebrated. However the victory could have been much more full.
I don’t want to be too critical of Saul, as we all make mistakes. David says in Psalm 141:3, “Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips.” He understood that his mouth gets him into trouble. That’s a great prayer to pray. “Lord, help me not to sin with my words.” James says in his book, “For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, this one is a perfect man, able indeed to bridle the whole body”, (3:2). We will never be perfect. The point is we will sin with our words, but hopefully less and less.
Proverbs 10:19 gives us a clue to reduce sinning with our words. “When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, But he who restrains his lips is wise.” Don’t talk too much. The amount of sins we commit with our lips is directly proportional with how much we talk. Much talk equals many sins, little talk equals fewer sins.
It’s a good practice to limit our speech. Particularly when we feel forced to comment. Peter was with Jesus, James and John on the mount of transfiguration. Moses and Elijah appeared and talked with Jesus. Peter felt he had to say something significant. “Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah”‘, (Matthew 17:4). Peter didn’t have the time or resources to do this. God had much for him. Dedicating the rest of him life to this aim wouldn’t be possible.
Saul’s comment was self focused. This is unfortunate. We do this as well. Hopefully less and less as we mature. God did a great work that day. God should have been the focus. Saul limited the results of the battle and made himself look foolish. Sometimes we make it about ourselves. We may have our reasons. We may feel threatened, therefore we may say something, but it only looks desperate. We try to make ourselves relevant. It’s understandable, but it rarely works. We need to go with the flow. We need to share our insecurities with the Lord.
Psalm 34:5 says, “Those who look to Him are radiant with joy; their faces shall never be ashamed.” At those insecure moments, it’s helpful to look to God. I’ve heard it said, “Look without and be distressed, look within and be depressed, look to Jesus and be at rest.” The first two points of focus aren’t helpful. This is a blessing of following the Lord. We don’t have to force things to go our way. That’s when our words get us in trouble. Know that God’s got us. It doesn’t mean things will instantly go our way. It means that we don’t need to worry about it.
Lord, thank You for having us. Help us not to sin with our words. Give us wisdom as to when to speak and when to be quiet.