“Whoever derides their neighbor has no sense, but the one who has understanding holds their tongue.” (Proverbs 11:12)

We have the acronym THINK on our refrigerator at the house. Our former pastor posted the image and included it in a short sermon series based on the idea of guarding your speech. The THINK acronym is a series of questions we should ask ourselves before speaking. Where each letter in THINK represents the first letter of a keyword within the question. So THINK means: Is this (T)rue; Is this (H)elpful; Is this (I)nspiring; Is this (N)ecessary; Is this (K)ind. And I believe the THINK questions may be part of what today’s proverb is hinting at. Describing the one who has “sense” as the one who will ask questions before they say something that they regret. Moreover, today’s scripture adds additional context to the use of THINK questions. Connecting a cause and effect dependency to using ideas like THINK or not. Saying that those who do not use THINK and express contempt for “their neighbor has no sense.” Inferring that when one continually ridicules those around them, they are actually lacking the intellectual understanding to just be kind. Then the authors turns the statement around by saying “but the one who has understanding holds their tongue.” This could be mean, as an example that the THINK questions were asked, and at least one of the tests failed. Possibly the statement to be said was not true, was not going to be helpful, or just did not need to be said. And thus, the one with understanding, the one who tested their statements and concluded nothing needed to be said, is the one who used sound judgement. Today, remember the golden rule, ask wise questions about your statements (before they are said), and hold your tongue when it makes sense to.