Guarding Your Words

We're so quick to speak it (whatever "it" may be). The words just roll out of our heads and onto our tongues without a thought, and before we know it, we've said something we're soon to regret.

So how do we avoid this certain catastrophe? Shut your mouth. It's plain and simple. No matter how compellingly persuaded you feel towards opening it; fight the urge. I know it's hard! I'm guilty of having opened my mouth on more than one occasion only to later meet my detriment in some form or other. Usually I offended someone without just cause, and it hurt both of us: The other party that I said it to in the first place, and me, that I later went back on my own elsewhere, and felt unconsolably bad about it.

I played the part of unexpected witness today to a rather wordy and somewhat shocking confrontation between a student and teacher. They both had fair points, but they also both had unfair points made to each other. Some of the words were completely necessary, and should have been swallowed with humility by the other party, but instead they were met with a backlash. Never in my life have I heard a student openly chastise a teacher. But today changed that. Being in the room at the time, I felt quite taken aback even though I wasn't exactly part of the conversation.

It does give cause to some other point of coincidence though, that this student also happens to be taking tutoring from me, and at one point in their heated conversation, I felt the urge to point out that this student had in fact been taking tutoring lessons from me (as that was the subject matter of the conversation at the time). So I did. And if it had been any other day, I may have foolishly intervened more.

But I didn't. Praise God for teaching me how to (ever so slowly) hold my tongue!

Their conversation ended, and I returned to the work my mind hadn't been able to focus on. Interesting to note though, that later, of their own accord, both participants in the conversation admitted, "I'm sorry you had to hear that." Well, the apology is accepted. Hearing their conversation was a big lesson for me in several ways. I just hope that maybe they'll both realize one day that it was a big lesson for them too.

To my Lord: Give me the strength to keep my mouth shut, and my mind open. Give others the strength to do the same.