Wording of this Handout:
Think First
Someone said that the mouth is so close to the brain there is not room enough for a brake. There is quite a lot of truth in that. If we had our mouth in our foot we might have to think about what we were saying before we said it - and think of the nonsense we'd avoid!
But words have a habit of jumping out of our mouths so quickly we hardly know we've said them before they're gone.
And sometimes we say things we really regret - like a nasty name, or sarcasm, or a lie, or a half-truth, or a needless criticism, or mockery...
God wants us to be careful how we speak, and to match our words with the need for them. A kind word may be better than a sharp one, and a few words may be better than a whole minute of prattle.
The Bible says, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech."
1 Peter 3:10