“A fish with his mouth closed never gets caught.”

By Misty Strieff Prine

This is probably one of the most profound statements I’ve read in a long time. Think about it for a second. Here you have a person dangling a fishing line. (The Instigator) This person usually has no place in the argument to begin with and just wants to stir things up. At the end of his fishing line is a lure. (The Culprit) It gets yanked back and forth and jumps up and down, all at the hand of the fisherman. Think of that lure as the person that spews snide comment after comment, wanting you to open your mouth and take the bait. If you have a weak moment, run toward that “lure” and you open your mouth, you (The Gullible One) have a 100% chance of getting caught up in an argument with that person. You will more than likely say some things out of anger that you will one day regret...ones that could have been 100% avoided if you just kept your mouth shut.

In the midst of every argument you have three people...the instigator that probably is sitting back watching the show, the culprit who needs to quit egging things on to begin with and then you have the gullible one that just cannot keep their mouth shut and takes the bite...the argument ensues and a rivalry is born. Think about it. If the fish had just kept its mouth shut and swam on by, the instigator and the culprit would have eventually just been left dangling their ill intentions and would realize they didn’t have the power over the fish they thought they had. VICTORY goes to the fish! There will be people whose mission in life is to get you to open your mouth and ruin the good you stand for. They will wallow in the fact that you failed and let your anger get the best of you. (Your testimony and witness will be tarnished by those who hear about it or see it.) That’s why you must rise and be better than them. There is so much peace and satisfaction when you can say, “Not today, devil. Not today.”

Turn the tables now. If you are the Culprit in the situation, you need to check yourself. Why are you letting other people influence your opinion of a person or situation? You are your own person, and God gave you the ability of thinking for yourself. If someone instigates you, it is probably THEM that has envy in their heart for that person (or fish) that they are trying to turn you against them. Stand up and do the right thing and YOU avoid the instigator. It’s time for you to be the better person. Now this part is for the instigator. If you have beef with someone, you need to pray about it. Pray HARD. Don’t get anyone else involved in your anger towards another person. You need to get your heart right and forgive that person. Learn to turn the other cheek and be the better person. Sometimes the pot just does not need to be stirred and needs to be left alone. If we all do our part, arguments, resentment will exist few and far between in our lives.

Love and hate cannot exist in the same spot. I don’t care what anyone says. They just CAN’T. You need to kick anything other than love out of your heart and do your part in keeping things neutral and calm. Trust me, anger and bitterness will fester if you let it. Love will grow by leaps and bounds if you do your part to let it.