Think before you speak!

Once in a village there was an old man who didn’t like his young neighbour. So he spread
rumours saying, “My neighbour is a thief…”
One day a theft happened in the same neighbourhood and because of the rumour, everyone
doubted the young man. As a result he was arrested.
Some days later after the investigation, the young man was found innocent and was released
from the custody of police. The young man felt humiliated as he returned to his home.
He decided to sue that old man and filed a case in court for wrongful accusation.
On the date of the hearing in court when the judge asked the old man about accusing the young
one and spreading rumour about him, the old man replied, “they were just comments…. It
didn’t harm anyone…”
Before passing judgement for the case, the judge said to him, “Today, before leaving, write all
the things that you said about that young man on a sheet of paper and cut that up into small
pieces. Take those pieces with you and on your way home throw them out. Tomorrow you shall
return for the hearing.
The old man left and did as the judge requested.
Next day, the judge told the old man, “Before receiving your sentence, I want you to do one
more thing… You will have to go and gather all the pieces of paper that you threw out
yesterday…”
The old man was shocked and said, “I can’t do that… wind must have spread them and I won’t
be able to find them anymore.”
The judge replied, “Same way… when you comment something negative about someone that
may destroy the honour of that person to such extent that one is not able to fix it.”
The old man realised his mistake and asked for forgiveness of that young man.
Moral:
Don’t blame anyone without knowing fact or truth… your words may ruin someone’s
reputation without any fault of theirs, or even ruin their life.
Words are very powerful. We use them every day, sometimes without giving it much thought.
With words we can accidentally or intentionally hurt others. Words can change a situation
from bad to good or from good to bad.
Before you utter a word you should T.H.I.N.K. Think about what you are going to say.
The first letter “T” stands for True. Is what you are saying true? If it is not, you should not
repeat it. If you aren’t sure then you shouldn’t say it. How many lives have been turned upside
down because someone repeated something that they thought was true but didn’t know for
sure. Words can hurt. Words can tear down. We have to be careful to be truthful. Remember
the first test of whether you should say something is, is it true. By the way, even if it is true
doesn’t mean that you have to say it.
The second letter is H. “H” stands for helpful. Is what you are going to say helpful? Will it
help whomever you are going to tell this to? Will it bring them much needed aid or do the
reverse.
“Reckless words pierce like a sword but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”
Will your words bring healing? If not, don’t say them…even if they meet the first test of being
true, if they aren’t helpful in some way, maybe you shouldn’t say them.

The third letter is “I” for inspirational. Will the words inspire? Will they cause someone to be
inspired or create an inspirational atmosphere?

“A prudent man keeps his knowledge to himself, but the heart of fools blurts out folly.”

A prudent person does not need to tell all they know. They have quiet confidence. An insecure
person has something to prove and will eagerly try to prove him or herself by telling all they
know. While people do not notice a quiet humble person right away, they will respect them
later.
The next letter “N” stands for necessary. Is it really necessary for you to say what you are
going to say? Do you really NEED to say it, or do you simply want to say it? Many times
things we say are not necessary but we choose to say them anyway. We need to learn to keep
silent at times when our words aren’t necessary, inspirational, or helpful. We need to guard our
lips against idle unproductive verbiage.
Finally the “K” stands for kind. Is what you are going to say kind? When you show people
kindness and respect, despite petty differences, you are bringing positive vibes into your
life and into the lives of others.
So before you say something to someone today, THINK! Is it true, helpful, inspirational,
necessary and kind? If it is, you can feel free to say it. If it’s not, you probably shouldn’t say it
at all.
Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools speak because they have to say
something.