September 29

Sep 29 - Today from Proverbs 29 we look at verse 20
"Do you see a man who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for him."

The particular Hebrew term for fool in this instance indicates silliness - a person lacking in good sense. I think this contrast was chosen by the Teacher to indicate that the one who speaks in haste is not a fool, rather, one who has the capacity and resources to process a thought but does not take the time to do so. This is a very serious liability for one who is in leadership - or aspires to be a leader.
A leader, by definition, is one who carries authority. A leader is to stand responsible for his words. There usually is not a great expectation of the word of a silly person. Silly people are known to babble - it's difficult to hold them accountable. But the words of leaders are to carry weight. Every thought a leader has is not necessarily a responsible or valid thought. There needs to be a processing period between the time it enters the mind and the time it comes out of the mouth. If not, there may be consequences. There are many examples of this in the Bible, one of the best known being the haste in which King Herod spoke when pleased with the dance of Herodias' daughter on his birthday (Mark 6:21-28). So heady was he at the party that he offered the girl anything she wanted. This gave the girl's mother a long-sought opportunity for revenge, and John the Baptist lost his head. It was not Herod's wish, but once his oath of promise left his lips, he was committed to it. He did not process his thought - he simply blurted it out in a heady moment.
Leaders at any level must learn the discipline of processing their thoughts. First, in their own thinking. Many invalid thoughts can be either discarded or processed right there, before they are ever 'birthed' through speech. But even then, leaders are not always able to have all of the needed information in order to process more complex thoughts. In those instances, the speaking should be done only with fellow leaders and trusted counsel before making the thought public. Had Herod counseled with his royal advisors before making his hasty offer, I am sure he would have put wiser limitations on the girl's request.
Hastily spoken words have probably damaged or brought down more leaders than did their enemies or competition. Wisdom and integrity take time to develop into an impenetrable fortress for leaders. They become the most valuable of assets. For the leader who never learns to develop these assets . . . there is more hope for a fool. A fool doesn't have all that far to fall.