Do you see a (wo)man hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
~Proverbs 29:20
~Proverbs 29:20
Admit it....at at least one point in your life you have done it. You opened your mouth without thinking and out spewed some not very nice words. I had just such an incident last night at church and spoke words that I wish I could take back. They were innocent but the words tapped into a pain that the other person was already feeling and as soon as I said them I could see the hurt that they caused. Deborah Pegues says, "Because we can never be totally aware of all the sensitivities of others, we must depend upon the Holy Spirit to direct our speech in a way that does not tap into their pain, distress, or other negative experiences". To do this though, we must allow Him to speak to us, which means we need slow down our tongue!
James says it best, "my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak" (James 1:19). In a world where everything moves faster than light, this may seem impractical. Consider this though, once spoken a word can never be erased.
Take a piece of paper and crumple it up, wad it up really well. Now flatten it out. See all of the creases? That is like our words. The words we speak cause permanent changes, good or bad, in the person we speak them too. When we say words that are hurtful we can and should apologize and try to restore the relationship. However, you will never be able to go back to what it was before those words were spoken. That person will always have the creases that you spoke into their lives.
I need God to direct my words, to set a gaurd over my lips (Psalm 141:3). God tells us that even a fool is considered wise as long as he keeps his mouth shut! (Proverbs 17:28)
Lord, again I thank you for your patience. Your word tells us that whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble and that we can not tame our tongue ourselves. I continue to ask that you assist me and those who, like me, have set out to tame our tongues. Help us to stop stumbling in what we say so that we may then control our whole bodies, so that we may become more pleasing to You. In your Son's name I pray.
James says it best, "my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak" (James 1:19). In a world where everything moves faster than light, this may seem impractical. Consider this though, once spoken a word can never be erased.
Take a piece of paper and crumple it up, wad it up really well. Now flatten it out. See all of the creases? That is like our words. The words we speak cause permanent changes, good or bad, in the person we speak them too. When we say words that are hurtful we can and should apologize and try to restore the relationship. However, you will never be able to go back to what it was before those words were spoken. That person will always have the creases that you spoke into their lives.
I need God to direct my words, to set a gaurd over my lips (Psalm 141:3). God tells us that even a fool is considered wise as long as he keeps his mouth shut! (Proverbs 17:28)
Lord, again I thank you for your patience. Your word tells us that whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble and that we can not tame our tongue ourselves. I continue to ask that you assist me and those who, like me, have set out to tame our tongues. Help us to stop stumbling in what we say so that we may then control our whole bodies, so that we may become more pleasing to You. In your Son's name I pray.
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