Who Is Bossing Your Mouth Around?
It was nearing the supper hour; the Bruxvoort clan was tired and crabby. I’d shooed my hungry kids out of the kitchen as I put the finishing touches on the salad I was tossing and promised my children a tasty meal if only they’d leave me alone for a few moments.
“Can I have a snack while I wait?” my then four-year-old had asked.
“No, Hannah,” I’d said as I steered her away from the stove, “Supper is almost ready. We’ll eat soon.”
With the dramatic flair of a Broadway star, Hannah grabbed her stomach and bent over in mock misery. “But, MOM, I’m STARVING NOW!”
With the dramatic flair of a Broadway star, Hannah grabbed her stomach and bent over in mock misery. “But, MOM, I’m STARVING NOW!”
“Well, your tummy will just have to be patient,” I responded with minimal compassion, and gave my youngest daughter one final push into the hallway.
Ten minutes later, I called everyone back for the promised meal. The chairs around our table filled in quickly, except for one.
“Where’s Hannah?” I asked my ten-year-old.
“I dunno,” Luke responded with little concern. “Maybe she’s not hungry.”
“She was STARVING just a few minutes ago,” I replied, and excused myself to search for my missing girl.
A trail of chocolate cookie crumbs led me straight to her hiding place. Peeking around the corner of Hannah’s bedroom, I spotted her blonde hair sticking out from behind the dollhouse.
“Hannah? Are you going to join us for supper? It’s ready!”
“No,” Hannah replied as she busied herself with a Barbie doll and went about her play.
“But I thought you were STARVING!” I prodded.
“Not really,” Hannah said while she kept her eyes on the small plastic doll in her hand.
“Hmm…” I pondered aloud as I crouched beside my daughter and wiped chocolate cookie crumbs off of her face. “Would these cookies have anything to do with your tummy’s new attitude?”
Like a deer caught in the headlights, Hannah froze.
With a stern gaze, I confronted the cookie thief. “I thought I said ‘no snacks’,”
“I know, Mom,” Hannah confessed with four-year-old remorse, “But my tummy was bossing my mouth around again!”
I’d love to say that I’ve never struggled with having my “mouth bossed around.” But Hannah’s problem isn’t unique to hungry children. If I’m honest, I have to admit that I let my mouth be bossed around by the wrong source far too often! I may be able to resist my grumbling stomach’s plea for off-limit Oreos, yet I give in to my grumbling spirit’s temptation to complain rather than rejoice. I may be able to set aside the end-of-the-day hunger that urges my tongue to snack in secret, but I fail to set aside the critical mindset that prompts my tongue to slander rather than bless. Hannah’s stomach may have led her mouth astray, but my heart can easily do the same. And when it does, the damage is far greater than a ruined appetite.
As the current boss of five precious children, the words that spill from my mouth have eternal impact. In her book, Growing Grateful Kids, Susie Larson reminds us: Our words are powerful. They go out from our mouths and into our children’s souls. And if not dealt with, those negative words will embed themselves in our children’s memories and become part of their belief system. Our kids are like blank canvases. We paint a picture of who they are with the words we speak to them.”
As the current boss of five precious children, the words that spill from my mouth have eternal impact. In her book, Growing Grateful Kids, Susie Larson reminds us: Our words are powerful. They go out from our mouths and into our children’s souls. And if not dealt with, those negative words will embed themselves in our children’s memories and become part of their belief system. Our kids are like blank canvases. We paint a picture of who they are with the words we speak to them.”
The Apostle James dire warning echoes Susie’s sentiment: “By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell” (James 3:5-6, The Message
Admittedly, James’ words leave me shaking with founded fear. How carelessly I can let the drool of destruction slip from my unchecked mouth and spill across the canvas of my children’s hearts. How quickly I can throw mud across the clean canvas of our day rather than splatter the moment with the colors of hope and healing. A mom like me who is prone to use too many words with too little thought is wise to develop an appetite for the Word of God. A heart filled with the Word of Life is the only way to guarantee that the picture I am painting upon the canvas of my offspring’s lives is one that compliments God’s masterpiece at work (Ephesians 2:10). May the Boss of all be the only One who “bosses my mouth around” day after word-spilling day!
The Overflow: “Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34).
Yeah, the BOSS does a great job when I stay out of His way 🙂
Hope your week’s a good one, friend.
We have a great Boss, don’t we?!!!! We just have to let Him be the Boss! 🙂 Thanks for your post!
~Robin 🙂