Part of a conversation:
I open my mouth and sometimes it makes people hate me.
I keep my mouth shut and sometimes it makes me hate myself.
Maybe that would make a good prayer of confession.
It makes me think about what I say and fail to say. There are lots of times I keep my mouth shut when I have an opinion or observation that I know would not be welcomed. And if I thought it was just cowardice over what others would think, I couldn't live with myself. But I tell myself that my concern - the thing that stops me from speaking my mind - is that I care about the other person, and the possibility of a relationship with them, and the peace of the community we both share. My opinion is rarely as valuable as any of that. And, to be honest, I don't have a very good track record of knowing when speaking up is and is not helpful. If I err (which I do) I'd rather err on the side of silence.
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