Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner with a Know-it-All

Have you ever sat in a restaurant eating your meal and been forced to listen to a know-it-all sitting nearby? Of course you have. Voices carry, and sometimes no attempt is made to turn down the volume.

We’ve all had to listen to their loud phone and table conversations. It’s a bit like being served a delicious burger with a side of rotten fruit.

In between bites of fast food, people bitterly complain about their messy lives and lay blame on other people.

Over pizza, people bellyache about job and co-worker issues and boast of their own solutions.

Despite dining by candlelight, couples heatedly make their cases for who is right and wrong in their relationship.

While dining at a kid-friendly establishment, moms criticize other moms for their child-rearing methods.

At their favorite breakfast meeting spot, a table full of men spew opinions and answers to world problems.

Their words seem to flow easily, without thought, hope or godly wisdom.

I can certainly relate to a know-it-all. I was one.

In my teens, you couldn’t tell me a thing I didn’t already know.

After receiving a college degree and gaining some worldly experience, I sharpened my natural ability to use my words to persuade others. I liked expressing my opinions. I would tell you I was right and the reasons why.

Often, I completed a person’s sentence because I formed my response while they spoke. Many times I talked over them. I heard myself doing it, but I couldn’t help myself.

To make matters worse, I was negative about most things. By the way, I was a young Christian.

One day my husband, Danny, took me to a fancy restaurant out of town, in Atlanta. I can’t recall its name but it had a large table that sat directly beneath a beautiful, decorative dome. I remember the hostess seating us a good distance from the prime eating spot.

Before long, I noticed that a polished group of eight business men and women filled the chairs under the dome. I didn’t give it much thought until I heard multiple voices coming from somewhere. It sounded like whispers, yet I could clearly hear every word. I searched the room looking for the source.

Having dined there before, Danny explained that the dome’s incredible acoustics caused words spoken beneath it to reflect and travel the distance to our table. It was if we were sitting in a whispering gallery.

I wondered if they knew people could hear their quiet voices. I remember thinking, wow, what if their competitor sat where we were sitting.

Here’s a thought. What if Jesus himself sat where Danny and I sat and He heard my conversation or yours as we dined at the table beneath the dome?

What do we do we say when no one knows us or we think no one is listening? What do our words reflect about our hidden selves?

What if at our local restaurants, where we are more comfortable, Jesus listened in on our chats with friends and family, our private phone conversations?

It’s more than food for thought. It is a fact that Jesus knows our thoughts and movements.

“You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue, you Lord, know it completely.” (Psalm 139: 1-4)

In chapter 3, James paints unflattering pictures of the tongue; poison; a bitter spring that looks refreshing; a tree that produces a different fruit than was intended.

He likens the untamed tongue to controlling a large ship with a tiny rudder, a fire, and a wild animal that is nearly impossible to tame.

Early in my Christian life I realized my uncontrolled tongue was all of that and a bag of greasy, unappetizing chips.

I never considered how my negative, ugly words might affect others. I was all about being right, heard.

God’s Word says that out of the mouth comes what is in the heart, that our words actually reflect the condition of our hearts.

What did my words, spoken without thought, encouragement and God’s loving truths, reveal to others about my heart condition?

As God revealed this sin in my life, I saw clearly just how condescending I was, how foolish my vain words sounded.

Controlling our tongues should be a part of our daily spiritual health regimen.

When we guard our minds against sin it helps us have the mind of Christ.

“Think on things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely and commendable.” (Philippians 4:8) In turn, this helps us control our tongues.

We should want knowledge but have zero desire to be a know-it-all. Jesus was the most humble servant I know. Humility is where its at!

Certainly, we should consider the words of people who speak objectively and have more knowledge, but we should never boast about our works. All that is good comes from God and we must recognize and trust His unworldly, limitless knowledge.

Apart from God, we can’t achieve or know anything of eternal value, (John 15:5) so we should ask God to show us His ways.

Finally, we should want to speak the encouraging words and spiritual truths taught to us by God rather than man and ask God to interpret what we cannot understand with our finite minds.

Like salt, God’s wisdom in us will season our words and make them palatable to those around us.

Let’s remember this next time we head out for dinner. You never know who is listening but you can be sure that God hears every word.

Helpful Scripture:

Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart. ~ Matthew 15: 17-19

For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. ~ 1 Corinthians 1: 25

Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given to us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. ~ 1 Corinthians 2:12,13