Think
As some of you may know, I definitely lost my voice last weekend. We had gotten to the end of a very long week of a very difficult and complicated play, and I used up every last bit of my voice. It completely abandoned me on Saturday morning. I woke up to find it had gone on an unexpected, but much needed vacation. Apparently it was an extended vacation because it didn’t feel the need to return until late Monday morning. (as a side, I think it’s pretty fantastic how God let my voice last just barely long enough for one seminar and gave it back just barely in time for the next. 
)
…It was kind of odd shaking people’s hands in church, not being able to answer any of the multitude of questions, and not even able to communicate that I had no voice. Though by the end of the day I had become a very good mime and my friends became very good at mind reading.
When my voice returned (well, unfortunately I still sound like Miley Cyrus sometimes, so I can’t really say that it’s back completely) I was enthused because I could finally make all the witty comments my overactive brain formulates in the span of a minute.
It was great.
Except then my brain started listening to the words that came out of my mouth more than before… maybe ’cause the sound of my voice was a new thing again. But I realized the power of my words. I realized how few words have actual purpose, how many are wasted, how many are not thought through.
On Saturday and Sunday I would tend to forget that I couldn’t speak until I opened my mouth and no sound came out. When that happened I’d usually try to play charades ’till someone got it.
Now I’m trying to keep my mouth shut. It’s harder when talking is actually an option.
How many of your words are worth saying?
…Behold, we put bits in horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body… even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature: and it is set on fire of Hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed and hath been tamed of mankind: but the tongue no man can tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison… James 3:3, 5-8
Dave said,
July 3, 2011 at 6:29 am
How many of our words are worthless… far more than we would admit, I fear.
Thank you for the reminder to watch what comes from the mouth.