Controlling my tongue...

Well gals, I'm going to get a little heavy on you today. This has been on my mind and I really want to share it.

I mentioned last week that I am doing a bible study about women's emotions - those fickle, fickle things. We got into a fairly lengthy discussion about controlling our tongues - the words and tones that come out of our mouths.

This really struck me because sometimes I feel like I need to do a better job of controlling my mouth particularly at home with my husband and my children. I'm certainly not a raving lunatic but sometimes I speak without thinking. My words and tone can be unnecessarily harsh or sarcastic. It's certainly easy for this to happen at home. We let our guard down and we feel comfortable.

The thing that was really convicting was the realization that this is a choice and not an uncontrollable reaction on my part. I choose to control my tongue in some settings but not in others.

If I think back to my days of working outside of the home, I was often frustrated or annoyed by some thing or another happening in the office. It was just part of life. I didn't lose control of my tongue in those situations. I didn't snap at my boss if he asked me to do something that I didn't particularly want to do. I didn't yell at my coworkers if I was hungry or tired or annoyed.

Now I know that God clearly calls on me to control my tongue. Here is what James 1:26 says:

If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his
tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.

And here is what David says in Psalm 39:1:

I said, I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence.

Ah yes! A muzzle! That's what I need!

I also know that I am to fear the Lord. Psalm 33:8:

Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world
revere him.

And Proverbs 3:7:

Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.

So why do I control my tongue in some situations and not in others? I think the answer can be found in fear. In the work setting, I feared the repercussions if I didn't control my mouth. I feared being fired if I was nasty to my boss. I fearing losing a good working relationship with my coworkers if I snapped.

If I'm completely honest, I feared the potential earthly consequences more than the eternal ones from my Lord. This realization is enough to drive me to the Lord in prayer for control of my tongue.