“For
we all stumble in many ways, if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is
a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. Now if we put the bits into horses’ mouths so
that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. Look at the ships also, though they are so
great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder
wherever the inclination of the pilot desires.
So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of
great things. See how great a forest is
set aflame by such a small fire!” James
3:2-5
What
is so terrible about the mouth is that once the words jump out, we can’t get
them back. I was shopping with my
children when a woman who had been on Public Television for pledge week
walked by. The woman had hair that
looked like a bird's nest, built by a bird on steroids. My son in a loud voice said, “Look Mom the
lady who is on TV, the one with the MMMMMMM.”
I put my hand over his mouth before he could get “messy hair” out.
Wouldn’t
it be wonderful if God could put His hand over our mouths before we say things which
are mean or hurtful or just plain stupid?
We
need to be aware of this giant human flaw of running our mouths without
engaging our brains. It takes effort on our part to monitor our
words. But we have an additional resource,
we can pray for God’s help, like David did when he prayed:
“Let
the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your
sight, O, Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.”
Psalm
19:14
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