Do You Have Foot-in-Mouth Disease?

Two men were sitting next to each other at a singing audition. When a hopeful performer began her audition, it quickly became clear that she wasn't doing too well. One of the men turned to the other and said sarcastically, “Sounds terrible, doesn’t it?” The other man scowled in annoyance and replied, “That’s my wife!”

Embarrassed, the first man tried to save face and responded sheepishly, “I wasn’t referring to the singer, but to the song.” The husband shot back angrily, “I wrote it!”
Have you ever had an experience like that where you kept digging a deeper hole with every word you spoke or text you sent? I like to call that "Foot-In-Mouth Disease." See, if you want to communicate in a way that honors God and helps others, you must address the foot in your mouth because it belongs to you!

How often do we speak negatively and use sarcasm to others? Perhaps it's words of profanity or other verbal abuse that you are vomiting onto someone. You may be on the receiving end of these relational realities. Either way, we must be mindful of God's commands regarding our mouths. For example, Scripture provides practical instructions about not using your mouth to lie (Proverbs 12:22), gossip (Proverbs 11:13), complain (James 5:9), or slander (Psalm 101:5).

See, we need to focus on speaking life over people. Proverbs 18:21 says, "The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences." Who are you encouraging right now? Are you praying for people? It will be hard to curse people out if you're busy calling out their names in prayer. Now listen, this isn't always easy to do, especially when we have been hurt. However, God will give you grace and even extend blessings when you use your mouth for His purposes.

Remember, to be a person of integrity in your words, you will need God's help! By His grace, we can be a blessing rather than a burden with our mouths.