(November 27, 2006)
Last week, I lamented Rep. Charlie Rangel’s slip of the tongue. After writing that “Pastorgraph”, it dawned on me there has been an epidemic of what we in the South call “hoof and mouth disease” lately. Mel Gibson, Sen. John Kerry and actor Michael Richards (Kramer on Seinfeld) just to mention a few have all “started their tongues before fully engaging their brains”, firmly planting their feet in their mouths.
I think it would do us all good to read what Proverbs says. “The tongue has the power of life and death.” (Proverbs 18:21). “Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” (Proverbs 12:18). James said that if we are to be spiritually mature, we must learn to control our tongues – no easy task. Add to that “We shall all give an account of EVERY IDLE WORD”. YIKES! With our tongues and our words, we have the power to give life to worthy ideals, or “quench the Spirit”; to bless or curse.
Words are powerful. God “spoke” the universe into existence. Jesus is “the Word become flesh” (Immanuel).
It all makes a body just want to quit talking altogether! Maybe that is not a bad idea. I recently heard a professor say women speak 22,000 words a day, and men speak 7,000 words a day. (Women are better communicators than men! Plus men have to hear it three times before it sinks in…that’s why we invented instant replay.) So, I have just started a “word diet,” trying to cut my words down to where I don’t say anything unless it is worth saying, and then only when the words bring the “power of life” mentioned in Proverbs.
I remember Brother Dave Gardner, a 60’s era Southern comedian, often said “I don’t have to watch what I say; I just have to watch what I think!” (“The mouth speaks what the heart is full of”) We all could learn a lesson for that philosophy, Brother Dave.
From the Quote Garden
“The older I grow the more I listen to people who don't talk much.”
~ Germain G. Glien
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