Think Before You Speak

Scripture art used by permission from Abby of LittleBirdieBlessings

Don’t you wish that sometimes God would just clamp his hand over your mouth?  Or at least put a 10 second delay on the time a thought enters your head until it comes out your mouth?

The other day at work I entered the break room several times. Each time our hardworking maintenance man was there, drinking a large glass of iced tea. His face was red and you could tell he was hot from working outside. He was taking a much needed break. The last time I walked in and he was there I said, “Every time I come in here, you’re sitting here drinking iced tea.’

In my head, that translated to , “I seldom see you in the break room, so it’s unusual to see you every time I’ve walked in today.” Sort of like saying , “We gotta stop meeting like this.”  Unfortunately the look in his eye and expression on his face let me know very quickly that how I meant it and how he took it were two entirely different things!

I tried in vain to explain what I meant, but I’m afraid I just kept making it worse.  If I had just taken an instant to think about how to say what I wanted to say I’m sure he would be giving me more than a cursory nod each time our paths cross, now.

I’m hoping this is a lesson well learned and that I’ll think before I speak in the future, but I still wish God would clamp his hand over my mouth when He sees I’m about to blurt out something that might be taken the wrong way.

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths,
but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs,
that it may benefit those who listen.” Ephesians 4:29

{Share this post}