Whoever belittles another lacks sense, but an intelligent person remains silent. Proverbs 11:12

More than once, my first opinion of someone turned out to be wrong. Because my parents and grandparents advised keeping silent rather than saying negative things to or about others, I had the chance to get beyond my first impressions. Several times, wonderful friendships grew out of these less than positive first encounters – loose lips didn’t sink friendships.

I wonder: how often has someone else kept silent when I made a less than stellar first impression? Just as my life has been blessed by my keeping silent, I’d bet my life has been blessed by others keeping silent about their initial impression of me. It’s grace I’ll never be able to quantify, but no less precious because it remains unrecognized and uncounted.