Rash Talk

Rash talk...

Ecclesiastes 5:6, "Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin..."

Perhaps you are like me in that the most immediate response we have in a negative situation is to say things we will later regret. I know from experience, I have had to go back to individuals (often my husband or children) and ask for forgiveness for my hurtful words.
I am learning to keep my mouth shut if my inclination is to reply too quickly, too rashly, or too emotionally. I first started to practice this about 5 years ago. I was very offended by an incident that took place in my home that was an affront to my children. The individuals that witnessed the incident immediately came to me to talk about it, to assure me the other individual was way out of line, etc. I kept silent. One particular person kept pushing me and herself became offended by my silence, so I learned at that moment to say, "I'm sorry. I know my heart right now and I know that if I speak now I will sin in my words so I just need some time to think and pray through this before I talk about it." This phrase has come in handy and kept me out of trouble on multiple occasions.
Sometimes we are better off keeping our thoughts to ourselves until we can speak gently, truthfully, and carefully.

Diane