2Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious, but fools are consumed by their own lips.
While we stayed with our son and his family we asked our youngest grandson what he would like for his Birthday. He is turning six very soon. He had an immediate answer, I mean without even taking a breath. “I want the Indominus Rex dinosaur!” He is a huge dinosaur fan, but at six he knew and could pronounce a species of dinosaur I had never hear of. I was impressed!
The ‘charm’ of this dinosaur is that he can ‘eat’ other smaller dino’s! Of course, what goes in, must come out. Need I say more?
As his grandparents our job is to get him what he wants, so PopPop went shopping. I was amazed at this thing! it’s huge. And yes, it does have the ability to eat smaller dino’s, up to 20 of them! I had no idea something like this existed. I did know, however, that we as a species have the ability to be ‘swallowed up’ by our own words. The wisest man, Solomon said exactly that as he was inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Think about it. We innocently want to get out of doing something we promised to do say, emptying the dishwasher. So, we think if we stay away from the kitchen area long enough, someone else will put the dishes away. There is only so long that you can stay out of the kitchen. Of course you want a drink, or a snack. You go to the kitchen. Not only is the dishwasher not emptied, but the item you need is in the dishwasher. Now you are forced to open the dishwasher to get the item. Of course, you must now empty the rest of it since now you know it is done! This is an innocent example of how our words can back us into a corner.
Let’s say you want to take a day off from work. You use the ‘excuse’ to your boss that a favorite aunt has passed away and you want to go to her memorial. However, before the date of the memorial, your favorite aunt calls you at work to invite you and the family to her Birthday celebration. When she calls to get you she tells your boss, ‘I am her favorite aunt.’ Busted!
These are fairly easy to smooth over instances of how our words can ‘swallow us up.’ There are much more serious, and sinister ways that our mouth’s get us into trouble.
Making promises we know we are not going to keep. That is a huge one! Think about how many times a child’s heart is broken by a parent who takes their promises so lightly. Couples who stand before the preacher and pledge ’till death do us part’ but a problem erupts and one of them leave.
Our words can have such an impact on our own lives that they can enhance, or erode our futures. A giant lie told in high school can come back to destroy your opportunity for a good job if it gets discovered at the wrong time. Think of recent events where confirmations of people in government have been scrutinized even back to high school. It is unfortunate that many of us have not grasped this concept until it is too late and the ‘indominus rex’ of our past comes to swallow us whole! That rex will have no mercy. It will not listen to your reasoning. It will destroy you with your own words!
Indominus rex. It can swallow you whole if your words are not wise and gracious.
Have you been swallowed up by your words recently? Maybe you can share it.
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