Today’s devotional is a follow up to the previous one where I discussed bringing my rusty French speaking skills out of the dull chambers of my high school mind and tried to communicate in France. Some of my attempts worked, but others … well, you be the judge.

We were in a small chocolatier watching a demonstration of how chocolate is made. Our local guide (the one who had encouraged my French) was giving us a talk on the history of chocolate, from the very first discovery of the cocoa bean to the present. The store owner had a large cocoa pod on the counter that contained beans. She described how the beans were used as currency due to their high value once certain foreign royal courts discovered the magic of “le pot du chocolat chaud,” or hot chocolate. When the cocoa beans were first introduced in France, however, the king rejected them because he thought they looked like “goat poo,” as the store owner delicately explained, and thus missed out on immense riches that others were able to snatch up as they rushed to procure the beans.

The missed opportunity and the reference to “goat poo” struck my high school brain hard and I said aloud, “Oh merde!” (Google it.) The three French ladies working behind the marble chocolate slab began to giggle and our local guide laughed and told me I was right. I probably shouldn’t have said that, but I was relieved that it made everyone laugh.

The writer of Ecclesiastes has something to say about this:

Ecclesiastes 5 (Common English Bible)

² Don’t be quick with your mouth or say anything hastily before God, because God is in heaven, but you are on earth. Therefore, let your words be few.

Have you ever blurted out something only to instantly regret it? Have you ever spoken a word in anger that seemed rash a few hours later when you calmed down? Have you wished you hadn’t fired off an email in haste? We all have these moments. It is in those moments that we need to pause, breathe, and ask the Holy Spirit to come and duct tape our mouths for a few hours.

Solomon reminds us that God is always watching and listening. He advises that we should consider our words and minimize the impact they might have on a situation. Thoughtful repartee is what is needed in this world of mudslinging and name calling. Indeed, it is often better to just shut up.

May our words be a sweet as chocolate today, and may others be blessed by our consideration.

Chocolate Making