The man asked a good question: “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus asked him back, “What do you read in the law about that?” The answer: “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’” Jesus agreed.
The man should have stopped there with his line of questioning. The scripture tells us he was a lawyer and that he was trying to trap Jesus. A man of his profession should have known better than to ask a question without knowing what the answer would be. “Okay, so who is my neighbor?”, and by that question he revealed himself as a man who was more interested in finding loopholes than in finding truth (Luke 10:25-36). His speech revealed who he was.
Both scripture and common sense warn us to be circumspect in our speech.
Proverbs 17:28 -- Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace. When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive.
Proverbs 21:23 -- Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles.
James 1:26 - If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.
James 1:19 - Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.
Psalm 141:3 -- Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.
Proverbs 10:21 -- The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of wisdom.
Proverbs 18:2 -- A fool has no delight in understanding, but in expressing his own heart.
Proverbs 29:20 -- Do you see a man hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
In sense, though, I’m glad the lawyer asked Jesus his follow-up question. Without that, perhaps we would never have heard about the Good Samaritan and know what type of neighbors we need to be.
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