A Biblical Approach to Conversation

I was watching the old Dick Van Dyke Show recently, and he was at a party filled with pseudo intellectuals. Dick got trapped into a one-sided conversation with a self-absorbed philosophy professor. One of the other guests said, “Isn’t Dr. So and So brilliant?” Dick Van Dyke replied, “He has the ability to say things which are on the surface seemingly vague, but in reality are actually meaningless.” That sums up the way many people make conversation.

The Bible teaches a different approach to conversation. It teaches us to use our words sparingly and to speak with caution. I read the other day that the Ten Commandments contain 297 words. Psalm 23 has 118 words, and the Lord’s Prayer is 56 words long. Yet, in a recent report, the Department of Agriculture needed 15, 629 words to discuss the pricing of cabbage.