Watching a baby discover his body is such a wondrous thing. The first time he sees his fingers brings a sense of awe. What is this I have on my arm? The sense of wonder never ceases to amaze me.

I was watching my grandson the other day in the church nursery, and he was doing his best to get his foot in his mouth. All I could do was laugh. I wondered what he was thinking. Maybe, “Oh, this is something new. I have already felt it, now I want to taste it.” As I was pondering the difficulty my grandson had putting his foot in his mouth, I wondered how hard that would be for me. Do you think I could put my foot in my mouth? Most definitely!

 

I am able to manage the amazing feat more often than I would like to admit. I guess you have figured out, I can’t really put my foot in my mouth, but I say things I shouldn’t all the time.

 

Have you ever asked someone when the baby is due, and there wasn’t a baby?   If you want to experience a look of disgust, that question will do it. There is no graceful way out. The foot is deep into the mouth by now. I can feel myself choking. I have learned not to ask that question unless I am absolutely certain there is a baby. Fortunately, I have learned there are many questions you just don’t ask. My foot doesn’t taste good, so I try to avoid those embarrassing moments.

 

“Put a sock in it” paints another vivid picture. I can see myself with this nasty sock in my mouth. We all know what this phrase means, but it was officially coined in 1919 to mean “leave off singing, talking, or shouting.” Obviously, talking too much is a problem which has been around a long time. I have had that difficulty for as long as I can remember. I hope I have gotten better with age, but I still battle the problem. When I do talk too much, I end up saying things I shouldn’t. Proverbs 10:19 reminds us it is wise to keep our mouths shut. With a multitude of words, we sin. There are many ways we sin with our mouths.

 

Another familiar saying will help us with that sin problem. We just need to learn to “bite our tongues.” Ouch! The pain we experience from biting our tongues does not compare with the pain others experience by our words. James 3 compares our tongues to a fire. A little flicker can grow and burn a whole town or mountainside. Our tongues can ruin people’s lives and our relationships. They can hurt people’s feelings and discourage them. Words may be forgiven, but they cannot be taken back.

 

The phrase “my lips are sealed” should be practiced by us all. I asked my class a question about the tongue in devotions last week. “How many problems did you have last week that did not relate to your mouths?” They experienced very few difficulties that did not start with their tongues. So many times we could avoid pain and suffering if we would just think before we speak. Whether we are lashing out or spreading gossip, it is senseless. For some reason, we feel we have to tell just one person. Surely, he would never tell anyone. But guess what! He only told one person, too! You know where that story leads. If you know someone who truly will tell no one, he is priceless.

 

James 3:10 also speaks about the person who speaks blessing and cursing out of the same mouth. He says this ought not to be.

 

“Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.”

James 3:10

 

If we are different on Sunday than we are on Monday, we are hypocrites. We should not be praising God with our voices at church and yelling or fussing at our families when we get home. When we go to work, our words should glorify Christ the same as they would at our church services.

 

James 1:26 teaches us,

 

“If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.”

James 1:26

 

The bottom line is if we don’t control our tongues, we are fooling ourselves. James 3:2 states:

 

“…If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.”

James 3:2

 

In this verse James informs us that a perfect or mature man doesn’t offend with his tongue. So those of us who think we are mature Christians must ask ourselves, are we controlling our tongue or does it control us? The Scripture says we are deceived if we think we are more than babes in Christ if we can’t control our tongue and the venom that comes out of it. In fact, our religion means nothing.

 

May we be challenged. Let us use our tongues for good. As we use fire to warm our hands and cook our food, we can encourage one another and lift each other up. May we not offend in word or deed. Put out the fires of gossip when you hear them, and say a kind word to the hurting.

“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”

Ephesians 4:29

 

Take the challenge. When necessary, let us avoid putting our feet in our mouths, put a sock in it when we need to, and bite our tongues at all times. Be a mature Christian and keep our lips sealed, except to spread the words of virtue and praise. Let’s start today!