Take control of what I say, O Lord, and guard my lips. - Psalms 141:3
Let me ask you a question. What comes out of a tube of toothpaste when you squeeze it? The correct answer is toothpaste, of course, because that’s what’s inside the tube! The same is true of the human heart. When the pressure is on and we are squeezed by our circumstances, what’s revealed will be whatever we have stored up inside. Are we carrying bitterness or irritability? If so, that’s what’s apt to come out of our mouths in difficult times. And once those words are spoken, they can’t be taken back and can often leave painful, lingering wounds in others.
I’ve played a game with my kids—and more recently with grandkids—that helps illustrate this truth (maybe you’re familiar with it). Each child is given a full tube of toothpaste and a paper plate and then told to squeeze all the toothpaste onto the plate as fast as they can. It’s fun, but messy—be prepared. Once completed, they are told that the first one to get all the toothpaste back into the tube wins! Of course, this is when the real mess begins and the impossibility of the task becomes apparent. Just like the toothpaste can’t be put back in the tube, the same is true with the words we speak—they can’t be retrieved.
The good news is that we can certainly apologize when we’ve said something we shouldn’t have. But how much better to be filling our hearts and minds with the goodness of God on a daily basis! That way, when the pressure’s on, we can speak from a place of abiding peace and keep from saying hurtful things we later regret. Life will sometimes get nasty, but the words we speak don’t have to.
ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS
Our words can and do have a lasting impact on those around us. Let’s make sure we are filling ourselves with God’s Word and His presence so we can be the kind of people that refrain from hurtful, bitter words and instead say things that uplift and encourage others.