My (Failed) Attempt at Being Nice

I have recently made the discovery that I am not a very nice person.  I’m not trying to be self-depreciating, I really am not as nice as I had hoped I was.  Just ask my husband.

This past weekend Phil and I were teasing each other (as we often do) and he said, “You are so mean to me!”  He was joking at the time, but I took the liberty of telling him how fortunate he was to have me and that I knew for a fact that I was VERY nice to him.  If anyone was mean it had to be him.  I proceeded to remind him of a good example (the first red flag was already waving in my head… I ignored it).  As if he didn’t know the details already, I recounted them for him.  I won’t do that here, but it had to do with my birthday, me being sick and dog puke.  You can put the pieces together yourself.  Other great examples flooded my brain, but that one seemed adequate enough to prove my point (red flag number two…ignored).

So after this discussion (which he took quite graciously and quietly) I decided to further demonstrate my incredible niceness throughout the rest of the evening.  We were headed to Dubuque as a family and I figured this would be the perfect setting for the boys to see how nice I am to their father.  What a great example I would prove to be and then Phil would have to eat his words – ha! (Red flag number three… ignored.)

Phil drove.  Oh my.  After biting my tongue several times I realized this was going to be harder than I thought.  If only I had driven instead, it may not have proven such a challenge.  We had been in Dubuque for less than an hour; my tongue was sore and I was tired of being silent.  The reality finally hit me and I said, “I give up!  You are right, I AM mean!  I can’t hold it in any longer!”  Phil, gracious again, just smiled and shook his head.

We laughed at the time, but it has been very humbling for me.  I really didn’t realize how biting I was and how often!  I was trying so hard to not be mean, I couldn’t speak.  Unkind words so quickly came to my mouth that all I could do was try to block their exit.  It was almost painful not to let them fly.  Talk about an eye opener, the words from James 3:8 about the tongue come to mind, “It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.”  I had a taste of my own poison and it was awful.

The hard truth is that holding my tongue is important, but that isn’t the full discipline of taming the tongue.  We don’t tame something (such as an animal) just to have it stay still and do nothing.  We tame it to behave in a specific manner.  One way our tongue needs to behave is given to us in Ephesians 4:29, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”

Stopping the hurtful words from coming out is not enough, the command is not to be silent.  We are instructed to speak words of grace that build a person up.  This is not something we can conjure up on our own.  What was coming out of my mouth that night (and all too often everyday) demonstrates what is in my heart…and I am not pleased with myself.  “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.” Matthew 15:18. 

My heart needs work…and I’m guessing yours does too.  I may not know you, but I have talked to enough women to know that we often travel the same roads and experience the same struggles.  How is your heart looking?  Is your tongue burning and staining those around you (James 3:6)?  I challenge you to examine your words for a single day.  You may be quickly shocked like I was.  I don’t say this to shame you, just the opposite.  These written words of mine are meant to build you up and turn you to Christ; he is the only one who can do the work needed in your heart and mine.  It is a process, but one we should be intentionally active in. 
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Ladies, our mouths should be fountains of life to those around us (Proverbs 10:11).  Imagine what talking to each other would be like then!  Imagine the growth of our relationships (including our marriages)!  The results would be heavenly.  I for one am in.  Here is my simple prayer today and maybe it can be yours too: “Have your way in my heart, O Lord.  Fill me with your Word so that I may overflow with your grace.  Amen.”