Take Care in What you Share

A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. (Proverbs 11:25, NIV)

How often do the words of someone refresh you? Do you refresh others with what you communicate? My hope is that you experience this give and take of benefitting others with generosity both with material wealth and with thoughts that come from what God is teaching you. And that is an important point to consider, what are we sharing and communicating to others? Is it truly wealth or is it something not worth sharing?

When sharing about the generous mind idea years ago, a friend asked about all of the “drivel” that could potentially be thrown out there in an effort to be generous with our thoughts. That thought has been rolling around in my head for a long time. It’s true; much of what we think about could be put into the drivel category. But, should that discourage us from sharing the nuggets of wisdom that we gain throughout our lives?

This morning I read two Proverbs that seems to speak to this issue. First, my eye caught Proverbs 12:23:

The prudent keep their knowledge to themselves, but a fool’s heart blurts out folly. (Proverbs 12:23, NIV)

At first I thought, “Oh, no! Maybe we aren’t supposed to share what is going on in our minds.” Then I read the comment by what we fondly call “Bible Guy” (the commentary), and “he” directed me to Proverbs 10:14.

The wise store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin. (Proverbs 10:14, NIV)

After reading them together and the commentary which says of the phrase, store up knowledge, “Rather than babbling folly…,” it seems that it’s the babbling about foolish things that is the problem. The message I got was that we should take care in what we share. It’s important to consider whether what we’re sharing is from God and is wisdom or is something foolish.

In a world where you can post almost instantly, this can be a challenge. It’s so easy to post without thinking. But these verses have challenged me to check myself before I share—to share with care.

How much care and thought do you put into what you share? As you strive to be a generous mind, ask God to put wisdom and truth into your heart and mind so that you can refresh others.

Commentary referred to is from The NIV Study Bible, 10^th Anniversary Edition