May 4,2003: Stray Comments That Get You In Trouble

Watch what you say.

Recently a young relative of mine got fired from a job she had just started because of a nasty little coincidence. She met an acquaintance at a fast-food restaurant and they talked about work. She happened to mention that her former boss was a moron, and she was relieved not to have to work for that jerk anymore.

It just so happens that her ex-boss’s wife was standing nearby and heard everything. She told her husband, who was a client of my relative's current employer in the same industry. He called them and said he would no longer do business with them. So they fired her.

The thing about that bad-luck story is that it could happen to just about any one of us. Who is wise enough to keep from saying stupid things in unguarded moments? Even one of our heroes, Billy Graham, was deeply embarrassed last year when his voice was heard on a 30-year-old Nixon White House tape uttering comments that were perceived as anti-Semitic. Who knew that those offhand remarks would come back to haunt him?

I myself have been haunted by careless comments I have made - things too embarrassing to reveal here - words the memories of which make me wince more than 20 years later. I take some comfort in knowing that I'm not alone. Though people can learn to control their passions and emotions and appetites, hardly anyone learns how to control his own tongue. James 3:2 says, "We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check."

Colossians 4:6 says, "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt." That is a good goal. Say this prayer today: "God, help me not to say anything that is hurtful, stupid or untrue. Let my conversation be just the way the Bible says it should be, seasoned with salt and full of grace."