Keeping Your Mouth Shut
If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. James 1:26, NIV.
The task of putting together a devotional book in three months, from the contacting of various individuals with a story or an inspirational message to the final editing, has meant that I have thought of little else. Every time I see a friend, I ask if they have a story that would help people live a more vibrant life. And so a few weeks ago, when I ran into Harry, I said, “I need a health devotional from you.” He looked bewildered. “Tell me how you keep healthy,” I continued.
Harry laughed, and with a twinkle in his eye replied, “I’ve learned that the best things I can do for my health are to keep my wife happy and my mouth shut!”
We both laughed at that. But there is truth to what Harry said. If you want to have a healthy relationship that brings personal satisfaction and happiness, you can’t hurt others by spouting off everything that pops into your mind. Happiness comes as a by-product of making others happy, not by looking out after number one. Each of us, in our own relationships-whether it be with our spouse, our parents, our children, our roommate, or our friends-needs to figure out what we could do to contribute to another’s happiness, and then do it. And sometimes this means we’re going to have to change.
As I was waiting at the checkout counter one day, my eyes caught the headlines of a tabloid: “Hubby glues gabby wife’s mouth shut!” I smiled. But I wonder how many husbands or wives read that headline and thought, I wish I could do that! I sometimes wonder if King Solomon felt that way when he said, “Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and ill-tempered wife” (Prov. 21:19, NIV).
If you have trouble taming your tongue, if you find yourself having said things that you wish you hadn’t, if your words sometimes hurt the one you love, let me suggest you do what Harry does: count to 50 before speaking. You might just find that taming your tongue is good for your health!
What is it that you could do to make others happy?
Used by permission of Health Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
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