Day 51: Those 'certain' 4 letter words

Proverbs 5:24

Avoid all perverse talk, stay away from corrupt speech

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Ah.... ye ole 4 letter words (and I'm not talking about l-o-v-e here.)

If I told you I had never uttered a 'bad' word, I'd be a big liar.  For some reason, I was big on the 'worst' of the bad words, but I didn't like the softer ones (like the 'c word' meaning poop....).

I never said any of those words around my kids.  My husband heard them in anger some.  If fellow drivers could read lips-- I'm sure they 'read' a few choice ones.

And I didn't think I was doing anything wrong...

I didn't use the 'Big daddy' of all 4 letter words (which is actually 2 words) that still makes me cringe when I hear it (especially on a movie... why does it have to be in pg-13 movies?), but I thought that the others were ok.  As long as I wasn't taking the name of the Lord in vain, then I was alright... right?

Well, probably not. My Sunday School teacher told me this verse was in the Bible and I had to laugh when I looked a few minutes ago and saw it marked.  Yeap, it is there... plain as day.  "Watch your mouth, Kelly." (You saw that too, didn't you?)

I got convicted over it a few months ago, so when I made Behavior Contracts for the girls, I made one for myself too and added "I will not use bad words."  Even though I didn't say them out loud, I still thought them and that is just as bad.  Since then, I have been very careful to watch what I say/think.  I won't say that I've been perfect at it, but I've been better and now I ask God to forgive me when I do happen to 'think a slip-up'.

'Dirty' talk is SO easy to get in a habit of doing.  Especially when you are alone.  I mean... it's late and no one is up.... or you are in the car alone... but guess what?  We are never truly alone.  Would I want to go to Heaven and spout out those words to God face to face?  Um.................... No.

So, if Jesus lives in my heart (and he does) why would I want to say those words when he's RIGHT THERE?! I would be embarassed to death if I said a bad word, turned around, and there was Jesus staring at me.  Well... its the same principle.  He is there..... whether we see him or not. 

Corrupt speech can mean bad words, slander, gossip.... anything that can be harmful to ourselves or others. I never really think of my words being harmful, but they can be.  Words can't be taken back. Once they are out there, they are always there.  We (I) need to be very careful to take time to choose our words carefully.  I don't want to hurt someone with my words (even if they aren't dirty words... what if they are hurtful words?  Words that hurt instead of help?)

Lets take special care to watch what we say today (and every day).  It really does help in how you feel mentally.

God Bless You!

Kelly