Proverbs 21, 23 says, who so keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles. I've heard some say that the problem with words coming out of our mouths is that it's like toothpaste coming out of the tube. And you can test this. I've used this with youth groups, especially over the years. Take a tube of toothpaste and just squeeze the toothpaste out of the tube onto a plate and then try putting it all back in. You won't be able to do it unless you know some fancy trick or something, but 99.9% of the people who try this little test will end up getting very little, if any, of the toothpaste back into the tube once the paste is out. And that's what words are like when you just let them flow out of your mouth. I speak from experience. But James says it's more like trying to put lava back into a volcano. James 3.6 says, And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. So is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body and setteth on fire the course of nature, and it is set on fire of hell. Yikes. That gives some perspective to our proverb. Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles. And in addition to what we said in previous proverbs about this, we also consider Proverbs 17, 28 in the past, even a fool "'When he holdeth his peace is counted wise, "'and he that shutteth his lips "'is esteemed a man of understanding.'" Again, we're not told to never speak, but we're told to be measured with our words, be wise with our words. One of the funniest things that ever happened that taught me a great lesson was when my pastor back in 1991 looked at a woman and he said, well, how far along are you? She just looked at him with a blank stare and said, I'm not pregnant. I've talked about funerals a number of times where people don't know what to say and sadly they just think they have to come up with something. It's best to just tell the person you love them, you're there for them, and that you're praying for God's mercy and comfort. But sadly, again, many people decide they have to try to say something profound, be the sage. For example, I've seen this. I wasn't there in person. It just happened to be a video of a police officer being killed in the line of duty. Somebody on camera said to the little boy, God must have needed more policemen in heaven, son. So you can be comforted by that. And people say the same thing about musicians and plumbers and painters or whatever the deceased person was known for. Such a statement is just so stupid. Please don't ever say such a thing, especially to a little kid. That poor little child after that must have thought, well, God killed his dad because he needed cops in heaven. I mean, hopefully that little kid was smart enough to realize how stupid that statement was. It doesn't comfort any child or anyone else when you say stuff like that. It's just not true to begin with. So if you don't want people to think that you're a nut and you also don't want to make God look crazy, then know when to just not say anything special or to try to be that sage. Just speak words that convey simple truths. I've seen people walk up to other people at a funeral and not even say anything. They take them by the hand and pat their hand and look at them and just assuringly let them know they're there. That's better than saying something that is absolutely ridiculously dumb or makes God look crazy. Especially if you're talking to somebody who's just not familiar with the Word of God and what the Bible says about such things. And in most cases, if you're speaking to a believer, we can talk about the rapture. We can be reminded that this life is passing and our future in eternity and the knowledge of what awaits us or that we can't even imagine how amazing and wonderful. God has prepared for us and is waiting for us. It helps us to face life's trials. That's why the Apostle Paul, after describing the rapture in 1 Thessalonians 4, 3 through 17, then says in verse 18, wherefore, comfort one another with these words, God's word.