Will Someone . . .

"Will someone . . .?"  Until I finally pointed it out to my wife, this was one of her favorite things to say around the house.  The only people around were our four small children and me.  I would hear her say "will someone get the dinner out of the oven?" "Sure my love.  We will get the parent of the year award when one of our kids decides to answer your plea for help and pulls the dinner out of the 425 degree oven."

Before you have that gold medal prepared for us, think about some of the crazy things you have said.  There are a number of reasons we say rediculous things.  Sometimes we just don't think about what we are saying.  We are busy multitasking, caught off guard, trying to avoid embarrassment.

One of my favorite examples of this, was a time I was doing pest control.   I was inspecting the couch  for bugs and flipped it over to look at the bottom.  The floor under the couch was covered in trash, food crumbs, etc.  It was obvious that no one had ever cleaned under this couch.  It was a filthy mess.  The lady who lived there was embarrassed and quickly said "those kids of mine!  I just cleaned under last week."  I am sorry lady, that mess has been there much longer than a week and not all of that mess belongs to your kids.

When I worked in fast food restaurant we would always get a good laugh at what some people say.  For example, people would come through the drive thru and would start by saying "this will be to go".  Really!  I had no idea.  It was usually because they were multitasking.  Funny, none the less.

These are funny examples, but speaking without thinking can do damage.  Proverbs 15:1 tells us "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger."  James 1 goes on to say "19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires." 

Check out Courage to Choose for some advice on how to use the pause to make better choices with your words.  In order to be able to think before we speak we have to slow down our lives enough to have the time to think.  

What one situation do you find yourself speaking without thinking the most?  How would pausing and choosing your response imporve that situation?



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