December 24, 2010 – Sirach 20
I was thinking about what someone would answer if they were asked “Does Matthew talk a lot.” I think there are times when I might talk too much, but I think there are more times when I don’t say anything. I much prefer to watch and observe what is going on and join in when I feel comfortable or have something to add. I know there are times when I leave situations thinking, “Were you just talking to hear yourself talk?” And that is usually times when I either didn’t know what I was talking about or I thought the people there were thinking that I should know about what everyone was talking about. There is that pressure to open our mouths so that people think we know what is going on and are full of knowledge. Here we see the exact opposite is true. 20:4 – one man is silent and thought wise, another is talkative and is disliked. But there is that pressure to talk when we shouldn’t.
I don’t know if he gets it from me or it is just who he is, but Paul appears to be very wise, as far as this particular chapter goes. He really never jumps right into running around or conversing with groups. He spends time observing his surroundings and watching people for a while before deciding to then jump in and run around like a lunatic. I thought maybe he wasn’t around enough kids at first and he is just shy, but maybe he is just a wise 20 month old.
In a world with 24 news and internet and all the talking heads that are paid to fill the air with noise, here we see that it is not wise to constantly talk.