The Mouth…a dangerous thing

Oh man, our mouths can get us into trouble can’t they?

How many times have you said something and almost immediately thought “I really shouldn’t have said that”?

Let’s see what the Bible has to say about this

18Whoever hides hatred has lying lips, And whoever spreads slander is a fool.

19In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, But he who restrains his lips is wise.

20The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; The heart of the wicked is  worth little.

21The lips of the righteous feed many, But fools die for lack of wisdom.

Proverbs 10:18-21 NKJV

Man, these are some serious words! Whoever holds hatred in their heart has lying lips, whoever spreads slander is a fool, he who restrains his lips is wise, the tongue of the righteous is choice silver (really valuable), the lips of the righteous feed many.  

This certainly isn’t all that the Bible says about our mouths, there are numerous verses talking about our mouths and the words that come out of them.

Why do you think it’s so important?

The thoughts we have are bad enough when they’re in our heads, but when they flow out of our mouths they pack so much more power. Those simple words have the ability to either build others up, or strike them down. The words we say not only tell a great deal about us, they also have the ability to really, truly, hurt other people.

Over the years I have learned a valuable lesson through my own experiences and through watching others make mistakes. That lesson…

Pause before you speak.

I know, this seems so simple, and obvious right? After all, I think I do a pretty good job about this (Honey please correct me if I’m wrong). In general I’m very conscious of what I’m going to say before I say it. Especially when I’m dealing with a tough situation, or with people whose emotions are running high, I have become very good at pausing and not letting my flesh push the words out of my mouth, rather taking the time to make sure my words are going to help the situation, not make it worse.

With that said, I still mess up way more than I would like to admit. Last night is the perfect example.

When the little guy threw his chili on the floor I snapped about the mess he was making. I wasn’t even snapping at him, but honey, I know I was snapping at you. Allowing my flesh to be in control, and snapping at you didn’t help the situation any, it only made you irritated with me, and of course it fueled my anger about the mess he had made. I know it was stupid, it’s carpet that is already stained up…that’s life…and we’re eventually going to replace it; regardless, I got upset about it and let my feelings get the best of me.

Then I spouted off without thinking about what I was saying or how it was going to help or hurt the situation. That poor choice, and lack of controlling my tongue, led to a completely unnecessary conflict.

If I had stopped and thought about my words, thought about the situation at hand, and stopped myself from acting in that manner, then there wouldn’t have been any conflict to begin with. It’s just those small simple choices, and deciding not to pause before I spoke that caused such an issue.

Son, this trick will help at school, when you’re in a situation with other kids who don’t agree with you. Honey it can help when you’re dealing with poor customer service…like the gas company guy! It can even help in our own home to make sure we’re putting each other first.

The mouth is a dangerous thing if we don’t control it, so that little tip, simply pausing before you speak, will help make sure we don’t become a fool.

I’m sorry for being such a jerk last night, I love you guys and hope this is encouraging today.