When you wash your face at bedtime (I hope you wash your face at bedtime), sometimes you get soap in your mouth. Isn’t that gross? No amount of spitting seems to get rid of that taste.
So maybe you can understand Ralphie’s misery in the movie A Christmas Story. When Ralphie used a really “dirty” word, his mom made him sit in the bathroom and bite on a bar of soap. She felt it would wash out his mouth and remind him to choose cleaner words. Ralphie was a slow learner, though. As he narrates the movie, he says, “Over the years I got to be quite a connoisseur of soap.” (Connoisseur is a big word that means he was an expert.)
As disgusting as that would taste, Ralphie’s mom was teaching him that she was absolutely interested in the words he used. God is just as interested in the words you use. Your mouth is the mouth he gave you. He wants you to use it to share his words too.
“With our tongues we praise our Lord and Father. Yet, with the same tongues we curse people, who were created in God’s likeness. Praise and curses come from the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, this should not happen!” (James 3:9,10).
God does not want your mouth to sing praises on Sunday and to swear at kids on Monday. The mouth he gave you to encourage people shouldn’t be used to be sarcastic. The mouth God gave you is for praising him, not for bragging about yourself. Today, use your mouth for good.
Dear Jesus, I’m so sorry. I have used my mouth to hurt people. I say mean things and put people down. I know this should not happen. Remind me that you gave me my mouth to praise you. Help me only use my mouth for good. Amen.
