Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble. —Proverbs 21:23
On September 11, 1995, a squirrel climbed onto the Metro-North Railroad power lines near New York City. This set off on an electrical surge, which weakened an overhead bracket, which let a wire dangle toward the tracks, which tangled in a train, which tore down all the lines. As a result, 47,000 commuters were stuck in Manhattan for hours that evening.1
This story reminds me of what we do with our tongue. Something very small can cause a lot of damage!
We might think, It’s just a tiny lie, a little argument, a few contentious words . . . Yet we’re reminded time and time again in Scripture that if we guard our mouths and tongues from saying words we’ll later regret, we will save ourselves from disaster.
Innocent loved ones can be harmed because of our ill-spoken words. The life of a loving child, loyal spouse, or committed friend may be wounded because of just a “little” reckless word.
1 UTU News, www.utu.org, Volume 27, November 1995, Number 11.
Make it Personal
What are some practical steps you can take now to avoid saying words you’ll regret later?