My dear brothers and sisters, be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. James 1:19 NLT
This verse is burned into my psyche, I think. The only problem is it's apparently not burned in deep enough. Too often I engage my mouth before I engage my brain. When I do this, I almost always end up saying something hurtful, or at the very least, something I have do to double time to explain. I don't do this on purpose, but it makes no difference to the person on the receiving end.
I have gotten much better at being tactful, from years of growing up in a family that didn't know the meaning of the word, but there are still moments when I let down my guard and say the first thing that comes to my mind. It takes a lot of effort to remember that:
He who answers a matter before he hears it,
It is folly and shame to him. Proverbs 18:13 NKJV
Last night, even, I was honored with an award through the Worship and Arts team in my church, but when introducing the award and the reason for the award the drama director described me as someone that had a lot of good suggestions and advice- not all of it solicited. I know he did not mean it as a negative thing, but I just have to be mindful that my advice and my words are tempered by clear thinking before I let them loose. Having said that, I want to apologize to someone very dear to me, for saying something that was unnecessary and ended up being hurtful, because I didn't think before I "spoke." I am so very sorry, and I love you. Please forgive me. It doesn't matter that I didn't mean what I said the way it was taken. What matters is that it was taken that way.
Do you too, have moments when you get to taste the nastiness of your foot? If so, then you know what it is that I'm talking about. Pray for guidance and wisdom in your words and even your actions. This is what I will continue to do.
--Lord, I pray today that I can learn to temper my speech and my actions with careful thought and prayer. I thank you for the wonderful people around me that know me well enough to know that I don't mean them harm, even when I do harm them. I pray for forgiveness from the ones that I hurt with my forked tongue. I pray that You will help me see those moments with clarity, before I engage my mouth. I pray this for all the others like me as well. I pray this in Jesus' Holy Name. Amen.
There is no MORE to this post.
