Jerry Elder

Watch Your Mouth!

It was really hard for him, many would have never known it in his latter life, but Dad had a problem with his language. Yes, cursing, swearing and even taking the Lord’s name in vain. I know, I grew up around it.

It was not uncommon to hear foul language in the presence of his closest friends, those that knew him and were used to hearing it from him. They many times shared the same language as him.

In our home it was mainly during those fits of anger and testing times that he would let words slip out of his mouth, you could tell that it was a habit and many times he would not think about what he was saying or how it was being presented. It was really hard for him to control his tongue.

Now Mom on the other hand could NOT stand the words that would come from his mouth. The rants and foul language would “curl the hair on the back of her neck”! So quite often, she would use the phrase in front of him and us, “Watch Your Mouth”!

I noticed that when she would say that to him, he would immediately become quiet. Sometimes would walk away, but as I recall, he only came back at her one time, (and that was when he was drunk, but that’s another story). He knew it was wrong.

He knew what he was saying, he knew the people he was in front of and Mom would remind him to “Watch Your Mouth”

That habit was horrible…and it was extremely hard to break. It was a process. He needed to be reminded OFTEN to “Watch Your Mouth”

I really remember the struggle, when he came back to the Lord. He would be speaking and a word would slip or anger would creep in. I remember one time him telling me that this was so hard because he had done it for so long. He actually would apologized immediately in front of people because he felt so bad. I am so glad though that there were people to remind him to “Watch Your Mouth” in a loving, gentle way.

The hardest was one time he said something in front of his granddaughter when she was little. I was about to say something to him, when I stopped and noticed the tears in his eyes and the soft words that came from his heart, “I’m sorry, baby Paw Paw shouldn’t talk that way”!

James said the tongue is hard to train, (James 3) but thats not an excuse. It’s really important to know that the things we say and how we say them are heard by God.

So a few things to remember.

Watch Your Mouth:
When around little children… They will copy what you say!
When around the young people… If it’s okay for you to say it, it must be okay for them, after all you are an example!
When around your peers… just because others use the foul language, does not give you permission too.

Proverbs 4:24-25

Put away from you crooked speech,
and put devious talk far from you.
Let your eyes look directly forward,
and your gaze be straight before you

Make it the habit (life) to speak Godly things, with a pure heart and don’t be afraid to help someone “Watch Their Mouth”!