When we were first married, my wife didn’t have a whole lot of cooking skills. I dare to say this because she freely admits it. There were a few dishes that she was good at, and everything else took time to figure out.
After a particularly rough day at work, I came home with an appetite, and opened the door to the smell of something new. She had made some sort of rice with chicken, but the trouble was, there was hardly any chicken. There was a whole lot of plain rice with a tiny trace of meat here and there, and there were no side dishes.
I tried to hide my disappointment, and kept my mouth shut, because any husband with half a brain knows better than to criticize his wife’s cooking. About 5 minutes into the meal, she broke the silence and asked thoughtfully, “You know what this would taste good in?” After a short pause, I said the first thing that came to mind, “Prison?”
Let’s just say that she and I have never forgotten that choice of words, and I have never lived it down for the past 15 years.
Thank God I married a woman who can take a joke. She was a good sport about it, and we’ve shared a good laugh over that remark for years. 15 years later, my wife has developed and honed her culinary skills to make excellent meals.
Have you ever said something that you later wished you hadn’t? Maybe it was so tempting because it was either too funny to keep to yourself or because you were so angry you had to let it out, or maybe you just weren’t thinking. Sometimes we say things and regret it, big time.
Proverbs 29:20 says “There is more hope for a fool than for someone who speaks without thinking.”
Once you’ve opened your mouth and said those words, there is no way to put them back in. There is no way you can reach into the ears of the hearers and take them back out. We’ve got to be careful and think before we speak.
Here are some good guidelines on what should come out of our mouths. Eph 4:29 says “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.”
If you’ve gotten yourself into a bad situation, regardless of who it is you’ve offended, there is a way to fix the problem. The same mouth that was used to cause offense can be used to bring restoration. Simply humble yourself and apologize. Ask for forgiveness from the offended party, whether thats your spouse, a friend, a loved one, a boss, etc.
You’ll be amazed how far a genuine apology will go.
There is forgiveness, transformation, and hope for a better future at the cross!
Don’t be hasty with your words. Ask the Lord to make your mouth into an instrument of righteousness, and speak words that bring life. Be blessed today.