In 1913 Gideon Sundback of Hoboken, New Jersey patented the zipper. It’s also National Zipper Day.

Think what life would be like without zippers. We have zippers on coats, pants, jackets, shoes, and other clothes. And book covers, luggage, briefcases, purses, backpacks, athletic bags, and other cases use zippers. We could find even more zippers around the house and in the car.

Zippers are safe, durable (usually), easy to use, and inexpensive. Without zippers, we’d have to tie or tape everything shut—or use Velcro and put up with that annoying sound all day. So go ahead and let out a cheer for zippers on their special day!

We’ve become so familiar with this clever invention that we use the word in other ways. If your father wants you to be quiet, for example, he might say, “Zip it up!” In other words, he wants you to pretend you have a zipper on your mouth and keep it closed.

Actually that’s good advice to remember, especially if you tend to say the wrong thing at the wrong time, to interrupt, or to go on and on. Your mouth gets you in trouble. It opens, and out pops the word or phrase that you later regret.

Our verse for today says that people can seem intelligent just by being quiet. You’ve probably seen that. You’re having a conversation with a group of kids and one of them (whom you don’t know very well) simply listens and nods occasionally. That kid ends up looking a lot smarter than one who asks silly questions or makes inappropriate comments.

Quietly listening when others speak also shows respect. Too often we jump in with our personal comments and stories. No one likes being interrupted. Listening could be called the language of love.

The lesson? There’s a time to be quiet. And who knows? You might even learn something. So zip it up.

Even fools are thought to be wise when they keep silent; when they keep their mouths shut, they seem intelligent (Proverbs 17:28).

To Do

Today, every time you use a zipper, say a quick prayer, asking God to help you listen more and talk less.

Also on this day . . .

This is also National Shrimp Scampi Day.

1997—American and Russian astronauts took the first joint space walk.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005). Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.