No doubt they are good…

“Some brothers were coming from Scetis to see Abba Anthony. When they were getting into a boat to go there, they found an old man who also wanted to go there. The brothers did not know him. They sat in the boat, occupied by turns with the words of the Fathers, Scripture and their manual work. As for the old man, he remained silent. When they arrived on shore they found that the old man was going to the cell of Abba Anthony too. When they reached the place, Anthony said to them, ‘You found this old man a good companion for the journey?' Then he said to the old man, ‘You have brought many good brethren with you, father.' The old man said, ‘No doubt they are good, but they do not have a door to their house and anyone who wishes can enter the stable and loose the donkey.' He meant that the brethren said whatever came into their mouths.” -The Sayings of the Desert Fathers (Abba Anthony the Great, paragraph 18)

What a vivid image that the old man gave.

“They do not have a door to their house and anyone who wishes can enter the stable and loose the donkey.”

The house, I presume is their heart or mind. The donkey, I presume is their opinions and thoughts.

“The brethren said whatever came into their mouths[minds].”

On the other hand the old man did not say anything and remained silent.

It is wise to listen more than you speak.

Thomas a Kempis, in The Imitation of Christ says, “Rarely do we regret having spoken too little, but very often having spoken too much.”

How true this is!

How often have we had conversations where afterwards we regret something that we said?

We may say a mean word to someone,

or about someone…

After the conversation is over, we are convicted for how we have spoken.

Let us learn how to control our tongues so that nobody can “enter the stable and loose the donkey.”

Abba Anthony the Great, pray for us!