I can remember as a child waiting with my mother for dad to come out of a hardware store. Summer in Redding California is sticky and hot so our windows were rolled down and sweat made our legs stick to the plastic seats of the car. Dad had promised ice cream at the end of our shopping trip and I wanted to know if it was time yet.
Mother, being the wise woman she was, reminded me that it is not wise to ask those kinds of questions when someone is hot, tired and frustrated. There is a time to ask questions and a time to wait silently.
That advice is good for adults also. Not only do we need to be careful when and where we ask questions, but when and where we do things. The writer of Ecclesiastes put it this way, “A wise man’s heart discerns both time and judgment, because for every matter there is a time and judgment” (Ecclesiastes 8:5-6).
