Oh! Be Careful Little Mouth What You Say! / Mrs Leeanne Graf

Mrs Leeanne Graf

Pastor's Wife

Victory Baptist Church

Sanger, TX

 

 

OH! Be Careful Little Mouth What You Say!

 

If you have children, you know what it’s like to hear fussing, arguing, name calling, complaining, etc. We have six amazing kids, ages 17-7. As great as they are, sometimes I want to pull my hair out because it seems all I say some days is “quit fussing”, “quit aggravating each other” “quit arguing”….you get the picture. J

What can be even more upsetting is when I see grown women acting just as badly. They seem to be children in adult bodies, always finding fault, complaining, and arguing. When did it become ok to tear each other down with our words? Have you ever asked yourself how YOUR words affect somebody? 

Eph. 4:29 says, “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” 

Do you edify (lift up) with your words? Do you administer grace to those that hear you? As sinners, and especially as ladies, it’s so easy to jump to judgement of someone instead of encouragement.  I am just as guilty, if not more, as anyone else. 

Here’s a thought: We all think about what we’re going to wear depending on where we’re going and what we’ll be doing. Do we not? We wouldn’t just reach around in the dark to find our clothes to put on but yet that is how we dress our mouths sometimes. We carelessly grab anything to say and think it will do. How is that ok?

Prov. 29:20 says, “Seeth thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him.” Wow! That’s harsh! God says a FOOL has more hope than someone who chooses their words hastily!

Prov. 25:11 says that “…fitly chosen words are like apples of gold in pictures of silver.” On the contrary, the Bible equates fit words with something that is BEAUTIFUL and LOVELY. So why do we treat it so lightly? 

Here are a few things we can ask ourselves before we speak:

1. Are my words ENCOURAGING?

Prov 12:25: “Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stop: but a good word maketh it glad.”

You never know what someone is going through. What you say to them could either push them over the edge into destruction or pull them out of despair and into happiness and joy.

2. Are my words SOFT?

Prov. 15:1 –“A soft answer turneth away wrath; but grievous words stir up anger.”

Are you making people angry with the words you say? You have the power to completely diffuse a horrible situation simply by speaking soft and graceful words. 

3. Are my words APPROPRIATE?

Prov. 15:23 – “A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good it is!”

Have you ever said the wrong thing at the wrong time? How embarrassing it is! We need to learn to bite our tongues! It’s always better to not say something than to say the wrong thing! If you’re not sure what to say, pray about it and WAIT for guidance from the Lord. Shoe leather isn’t very tasty. Trust me, I know! 

It sounds so cliché, but it always come back to this, ask yourself how you’d feel in their shoes hearing what you’re saying to them. Look diligently for ways to encourage someone with a kind word. Wouldn’t it be better to be known as an encourager than a gossip, backbiter, or just plain mean?!

***“It’s better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt” ***