The beast

There's an animal lurking around our home. It's not like the 20 in. corn snake found in my brother & sister-in-laws family room last week. No, this is much, much scarier than that. And, it rears its ugly head at a moments notice. There's no rhyme or reason... it's just untrained. And it's ferocious. Even without lungs, it is harming people ... sometimes daily. 

It's my tongue.

I'm working on memorizing Ephesians 4:29 "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear."

Building up? Giving grace? Not even close.

Last night, mindlessly, I said something to The Hubby that was just rude, unkind, and completely untrue about him. I called him a name... and I was joking... but it was just unnecessary. My man knows me well enough to know I was joking, but it was another nail hole in his fence. (Ever heard that story... when you hurt someone it's like you put a nail in their fence... and though you may apologize and ask for forgiveness... and the nail comes out... the hole in the fence remains for a while. I like to think that eventually Jesus comes by with His wood putty and fills in the hole... but its rarely immediate.)

I love My Hubby. He's the man of my dreams. But what I said to him was a low blow.

When I started working on this verse I was thinking gossip. What I realized after last night's exchange is that it's not what I'm saying behind people's backs that's hurting them-- gossip isn't really my thing. It's the coarseness with which I'm saying things to people ... as I look them in the eye.

I KNOW?! BEASTLY!

So, why am I telling you? #1) Beware if you're near me. This thing is ugly! It comes out at the most random of moments and it will chew you up and spit you out in nothing flat. Ask My Hubby! On second thought, don't. Please. I don't want to relive it, or have him relive it, ever again. #2) Call me out on this, people! This is not right. Shoot the beast! Kill the beast!

With all this said, I'm adding a few more verses to my "soon to be memorized" list:
"May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you..." -Psalm 137:6
"When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise." -Proverbs 10:19
"He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity." -Proverbs 21:23

And the most painful, but most important ones as I attempt to kill this beast...
"If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless." -James 1:26 (My testimony is at stake! I refuse to waste all that God has done in my life!)
... and James 3:1-12. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch.

So there you have it. Guns are blazin'. Kill the beast.