In his book, The Heart is the Size of a Fist, PP Fourie writes about his father’s abuse of him and his mother. He describes how they walked the streets on Christmas Eve looking at happy families having dinner. On the eve of the celebration of the Prince of Peace’s birth, they longed for peace.

My heart jumped as I imagined myself in the position of that young boy and his mother. I wondered if people who do things like this to their loved ones knew that what they were doing was wrong and didn’t want to do it. I wondered what their self-image looked like.

I suspect that man was full of hot air when it came to communication.

²⁶Anyone who sets himself up as “religious” by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air.

Most of us are probably not as bad as him. Our families don’t wander the streets of our town on Christmas Eve longing for a peaceful Christmas dinner.

But now and then we don’t guard our mouths and, no, it’s not as if we planned it. As the emotions rise up, we use our words to bite, and others bleed.

It happens in the best of families.

But it’s not right. When we use our words to attack and fight and gossip, our Christianity is called into question. That’s why we have to get rid of this way of talking.

One day Div wrote to me:

We are imperfect triangles with sharp points and we hurt and even kill one another, even if it is with words. We often speak death over others and ourselves. With our own tongue …

Yes, we have to control our tongue. We have to guard our mouth and words all the time. We must ensure that our words do not destroy.

Div continued:

Every now and then we bump into something and some of the sharp points break off. Eventually, all those points are even out, so that we can become perfect like Him, our God.

Let’s try and get rid of the hot air and allow our sharp points to be broken off, so that we don’t commit murder. Let us create a space where people will always be safe and do not have to duck the words wanting to slip from my mouth.

Scripture
James 1:19-27

Reflection
Do you sometimes say the wrong thing?
Do people sometimes have to duck the words escaping from your mouth?
How can you keep guarding your mouth?

Prayer
Father, I want to be known as Your child and every single moment I want to act and talk like Your child. Help me to guard my mouth and create a safe space for all. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.