Ahh, what a cute picture. Ooh, what a terrible experience and taste at 40! There are times in life when I wish I possessed the ability to rewind my mind and mouth and not say the stupid and embarrassing thing that just escaped my lips. Recently, Pat Robertson said something before a national television audience that I'm sure he wished he could have rewinded. But alas, once a foolish word escapes, it is out there for all to see and hear over and over again. Pat blew it on this one and did not do a good job of representing Christ or His church. Unfortunately, I too have done the same thing many times, with the difference being, I have a much smaller audience.
I remember for instance the time I was praying over the children in our church before we released them to our Kids Church program and I slipped into "auto pilot" and asked God to "bless these wonderful children to our bodies!" I think I was hungry or tired or both, but you can only imagine the laughter that followed that rather pious prayer. This past Sunday, after talking about why I was taking a sabbatical and was in need of rest, I found myself second guessing so many of the things I had said. Truly, those who wish to teach others have no idea what they are asking for! Those who teach and preach the gospel are called to represent Jesus Christ in their speaking and will do so either accurately or not.
James the apostle reminds us of the power of the tongue in the following biblical text: James 3:2-6 - 2 We all make many mistakes, but those who control their tongues can also control themselves in every other way. 3 We can make a large horse turn around and go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. 4 And a tiny rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot wants it to go, even though the winds are strong. 5 So also, the tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do. A tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. 6 And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is full of wickedness that can ruin your whole life. It can turn the entire course of your life into a blazing flame of destruction, for it is set on fire by hell itself. NLTAs you can see by these God breathed words, the tongue is a very powerful instrument, capable of doing great damage or good. I would like to end on a kind of funny note that I thought was appropriate to illustrate my point. I found this link at another fellow bloggers site and thought those of you with a sense of humor would appreciate it. Please don't let it offend you as it just shows that preachers especially are often the best at verbal faux paus! Remember, TRY TO KEEP YOUR FOOT OUT OF YOUR MOUTH!
CLICK ON THE WORD "LINK" ABOVE TO SEE THE VIDEO
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