Open Mouth and Insert Foot

We’ve all heard this expression!

But, if I had a hundred dollars for every time I have actually said something I shouldn’t have said, I would be a wealthy woman! There have even been occasions when I have given such a stellar performance,
that not only have I opened my mouth and inserted my foot…I have included the shoe on the foot, and the shoe box it came in!

Now before you get all self-righteous on me, I know you’ve done it too. How do I know this? It’s because it’s discussed in Scripture, and if it weren’t a widespread problem, it wouldn’t be in there, right?

So let’s look at scripture on this topic, because if we can’t get our mouth under control, it hampers our spiritual transformation. Look at James 1:19-27. He tells us, we are to harness our mouth and keep our anger in check. We are not to spout off the first thing that comes to mind.

James also says that anger is futile. What do you think about that? When I first hear it, I think, “Everybody gets angry from time to time; what’s the harm?” The problem with it is, that many times, when we get angry; two bad things happen. First, we say something we shouldn’t, and we sprinkle in a curse word or use un-Godly or hurtful content which we cannot un-say or adequately apologize for later. This can cause severe damage.

Plus, scripture says, “Vengeance is mine,.. sayeth the Lord” (Romans 12:19).   You may be thinking, “What about Jesus turning over the tables of the moneychangers in the temple? Jesus got angry and he never sinned.” I would say, “yes,” he was angry, and “yes,” he never sinned, but I would also say…since Jesus is God, it was ok for Him to show vengeance, but that doesn’t give us permission.

The second bad thing which happens when we get angry is that we hurt our Christian witness. In the few short months I’ve been on Facebook, I’ve found out that a lot of my Christian Facebook friends curse on Facebook during sporting events and in response to political issues. Plus, some of my Christian friends apparently play gambling games and buy lottery tickets. It’s not a judgment; it’s an observation. But it does cause me to see them in a bit of a different light.

James says it’s as if we look in the mirror one minute, and the next minute we forget, who we are, and what we look like (v. 23-24). And while, only God truly knows our heart, we send out a conflicting message to others…Believers and Unbelievers alike, when we say or do things which are not Godly. James also says that our mouth exposes our heart (v.26). While, we want to be vulnerable, we want our real selves to be God honoring selves.

So maybe you’ve read this far, and you say, “Ok, I hear you, but I don’t speak out of turn, or pay people back when they hurt me, I let God do that, when warranted…” Well, you still may not ‘be out of the woods,’ yet. This series of passages not only talks about what we are to refrain from doing, it also speaks to what we are to be doing. James 1:22-25 discusses the importance of hearing God’s voice and responding to it. He says we need to hear and act on what God has commanded. I will ask you to ponder this more in detail in the next post.

And just so we don’t get too prideful, James cautions us not to put ourselves on a pedestal and delude ourselves into thinking that we are such wonderful religious role models, that we are the envy of our neighborhood or local congregation. Because we are not, and even if we are doing great things, we can always do more. We can’t out give and out love God.

By now, you should be concluding as I am…there’s always something I’ve gotta improve upon. That’s why spiritual transformation is a journey, a process. So don’t be too hard on yourself. We’re all a work in progress.

Action Steps:

1.   Think of the setting or situations in which you are most likely to speak to soon or inappropriately. Ask God to slow you down if you are prone to speaking up to soon or saying inappropriate things. What can you do to limit or stop this behavior?

2.   In what settings and when around what types of people, are you most often angered? Ask God to help you if you are working on being ‘slow to anger.’ What can you do to change your response?

3.   When do you have time forgiving others? Ask God to help you give up grudges when others hurt you with their actions or words. What can you do to respond in a Godly way when this happens?

4.   Enjoy your Easter! He is the God of forgiveness, mercy and grace. He is the God of second chances.