Has anything ever gotten you into more trouble than your tongue? Have you ever wished you could take something back after you had said it? Oh, let me confess, I only ask this rhetorical question because it has happened to me. I know the sense of shame and regret at having spoken too soon before I could stop myself. Someone has said, the tongue weighs practically nothing, yet so few people can hold it.

One of the quotable sayings, which I try to live by, is a statement made by Socrates: "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt." That's difficult for a preacher to remember. We are not accustomed to remaining silent.

When Oliver Wendell Holmes was asked how one can get elected to a public office, he said, "To be able to listen to others in a sy…