Stop Churning

If you have been foolish in exalting yourself, or if you have devised evil, put your hand on your mouth. For as the churning of milk produces butter, and wringing the nose produces blood, so the forcing of wrath produces strife. (Proverbs 30:32-33)

Making butter used to mean churning cream vigorously until the fat separated from the liquid. The Proverbs writer uses this image as an example of human behavior. Just as continually applying pressure and churning to milk produces butter, and as applying pressure to someone’s nose will cause it to bleed, so will continuing to press one’s anger produce strife.

God’s wisdom provides us with a simple yet powerful solution to stop the process of producing strife. He says, “put your hand on your mouth.” Instead of applying pressure to a situation that produces strife, apply pressure to your own mouth and produce silence. Perhaps a more American way of saying this would be “shut up.”

Our words are powerful little things that can accomplish great good, or cause terrible harm. James wrote:

“Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell” (James 3:5-6).

Because our words can be so difficult to control, and because they are capable of causing tremendous harm, James warns:

“So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (James 1:19-20).

The Proverbs writer reminds us of the wisdom of keeping our mouths shut. He penned:

“He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding is of a calm spirit. Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; when he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive” (Proverbs 17:27-28).

We should stop churning up situations with our words because once strife is produced, it is very difficult to stop. That’s why God warns:

“The beginning of strife is like releasing water; Therefore stop contention before a quarrel starts” (Proverbs 17:14).

The best way to stop strife is to close our mouths before strife is produced.

We will face moments in our lives when we want to give someone “a piece of our mind” or apply pressure to further “churn up” a situation. But doing this rarely resolves the situation; it usually only escalates matters. Instead, let’s try saying nothing and take the matter to God in prayer.

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