Virginia and Tom Boles

By the Rev. Thomas M. Boles Phd., DMin., D.D.

Mark 8: 27-38

“Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted

wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed

a man of understanding.

At times, it is better to keep your mouth shut and

let people wonder if you’re a fool than to open it

and remove all doubt.”

Many years ago as Earl Nightingale was riding in a taxi, his driver commented that a friend of his, also a cab driver, had started to go into a business of his own. “But I talked him out of it,” he said, “I told him that 95 percent of all new businesses do not fail. And let me ask you this: if your friend had gone into a business of his own and failed, could he have got his cab driving job back?”

He said, “Oh, sure.”

“Then he didn’t have anything to lose by trying, did he?”

“He might have lost some money.”

“But what if he had succeeded?” Nightingale said.

The cab driver was silent.

“Giving advice to friends doesn’t require thinking,” Nightingale concluded. “All you

have to do is open your mouth, and all the clichés and myths

and half-truths just come pouring out. I heard it all as a kid.”

The cabbie asked, “Do you have your own business?”

“Yes, I do!”

There is no point in giving advice unless you are sure it is God’s advice.