The Taming of the Tongue, Shut up already

   Happy February monsters. How is the love walk going? In case you haven't noticed I have not been blogging as much as I was. A part of that is I have been crazy busy juggling being a mom, planning a wedding, working and all the other things that make up a life. More importantly I have been working on me, specifically my mouth.  With day to day issues and frustrations it is easy to say things you don't mean, to talk about people and situations that annoy you, to gossip, to rant, and to make comments you may later regret. Yup with all the stuff going on in my life its easy to lose ground on the things I thought I had dealt with, my mouth being one of them. Lucky for you monster my slip ups make great topics for this blog.

    Throughout this blog and my journey I have discussed the importance of changing the way you think, guarding your heart, and speaking good things into your life. I seem to have overlooked the whole watching what you say thing, I mean it was easy to call out others on what they say, but myself not so much. In fact recently I have found myself so annoyed with the words coming out of the mouth of someone I loved, that I had to pause and see that God was placing a mirror in front of me. Yup, it was time to work on my mouth, after all what is the point of having pretty lips if every word that comes out of them is ugly? Ponder that monster, ponder that.

   

 So what should you not be saying, let's go to my favorite place, Proverbs. Proverbs is chuck full of wisdom, and a whole bunch of it is dedicated to watching your mouth. It talks about lying, bad mouthing, slander, gossip, foolish talking, deceitfulness, speaking out in anger, rash words, and even about when to shut up. The more I read it the more I realize that I could have saved myself a ton of drama just by being quiet. "Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble" Proverbs 21:23. We all know that lying is wrong, gossip is not so good and slander, slander you could be prosecuted for, or is it libel, either way you want to stay away from it."Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler." Proverbs 20:19 "A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends" Proverbs 16:28 Then there is the grey area. Sarcasm, dry wit, perverse speaking, etc. So basically the majority of my smart comments and mean but funny statements should never have been uttered. Harsh, but true.

        So what are we supposed to do monster, it's not like you can walk around with a muzzle on or a gag, so not fashionable. It is easy, it is time to shut up. Yup I said it, shut up. Next time you want to talk, make a comment, discuss someone, joke about something, shut up. Harsh huh? Before you speak think. Is what you are about to say a sword or not. Are you verbally murdering someone? Are you making a situation/conversation better or worse? Is it something you wouldn't mind saying to Jesus? The Bible says that we are to think about the good, the just, the lovely, if you are thinking these things then there is no room for the ugliness that can escape your lips. (Philippians 4:8) There are times when you think that your not really gossiping or your just telling your friend what you heard, the Bible also covers this. It says that love covers all things and a trustworthy friend will shield their friend from the hurt.

grace  

/grās/

Noun Simple elegance or refinement of movement.

Verb Do honor or credit to (someone or something) by one's presence.

Synonyms noun.   favour - favor - charm - elegance - mercy - gracefulness verb.   adorn - decorate - ornament - embellish - deck - bedeck

As for the snide comments and the off color jokes we are all guilty of enjoying, try this one on for size.  "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." Ephesians 4:29.  Grace, now there is word you don't hear often. In fact it has all but disappeared from our vocabulary, it is more then just a popular name for a little girl.  We as ladies should be gracious and kind. Unfortunately we seem to be a generation of mean girls we mistake cattiness for charm and mean spirited talking for wit. Do the words you use with others do honor or credit, is it a pleasure to be in your company, are you elegant, refined? According to the words you use and the content of your conversation, I would say no.  

So you see monster, you have great power in your tongue. It can be a sword, destroying and cutting at every turn or it can be a healer, a balm to the bruised, an instrument of peace, and a source of wisdom. You decide on what you want it to be. I still struggle with this, as I am sure you do. The good news is that you can master your mouth, it is as simple as shutting it. While it is shut get to reading, start with proverbs then do a search of all the verses that deal with your tounge. I did, I still do, It is a walk that we are on monster. This is just one step in it. So how do you  get started taming your tounge? Easy, when in doubt, shut up. 

Happy talking monster, happy talking