Lent 2017: Week 2

James 3:8-"But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison".

Yes...I am finding this to be SO true! But not just the tongue (for me) but the tone and facial expressions and body language...this is SO hard!?

I have been praying each and every morning for GOD to help tame my tongue (since I cannot!)...to keep me from anything less than edifying, encouraging, supporting, etc. any listener to my words. Yet I find myself giving in so quickly to dumping, venting, complaining, sarcasm, etc. Awful!

There is one person with whom I work that I am painfully aware brings out the untamed tongue in me. I cannot really avoid this person and I have found myself over the last couple of weeks feeling a bit of dread when they pop into my office, knowing that I am doomed to fail in my attempts to tame my tongue. It even has gone as far as me knowingly stifling my words but rather giving a knowing look or "hmmm" or roll of the eyes to get my point across. SINNER! 

Each day has brought about a large measure of defeat. Yet I press on. The one area (oddly? or perhaps, most gratefully) that I have found myself succeeding in is in relation to my beloved.

Mark and I, after almost 20 years of marriage, have come to a good point where we talk more than argue or fight. In fact, sitting here typing, I can't recall the last time we spoke sharp words to each other. As years have increased, our need to "be right" or "prove ourselves" in situations has morphed into a healthy balance (I believe, anyway) of seeing things from the other's perspective and allowing ourselves to be wrong AND admitting that without question. 

In my attempt to tame my tongue, I have found myself more immediately apologetic (and sincerely so) when I've enveloped a statement with "tone" that wasn't necessary,  spoken words I should not have, or said something that didn't need to be said, at least in the way I've said it. He is aware of my Lenten intent on gaining some semblance of control of this matter, and has been very gracious when I readily admit my faults. To me, at least in all my daily failures, that's something, and in the priority of covenants, I'd rather perfect (to whatever degree God allows) my tongue at home before it's perfected (to the degree it can be) to the world around me. 

So, praise God for small victories=no "deadly poison" in my home...God willing...