Guard Your Mouth, Preserve Relationships
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| (Monroe County sunset. 5/8/20.) |
I'm reading from Proverbs, searching for wisdom.
Proverbs 13:3 says,
Those who guard their lips preserve their lives,
but those who speak rashly will come to ruin.
I know a man who spoke everything that came into his mind. He had no filter. He thought he was funny. He embarrassed his wife and children.
I have opened my mouth and ruined a relationship. I was twenty-one. I occasionally played golf with our family's insurance agent. His name was Don.
I remember driving home after a round of golf. Don was in the car with me. We started talking about cats. I told Don about our family's Maine coon cat. He was huge!
"What's his name?" Don asked.
"I named it "El Gato." That's Spanish for "The Cat.""
Then I added, "I didn't want to give him some ordinary name, like "Mittens.""
"Don, do you have a cat?"
"Yes," he said.
"What's its name?"
"Mittens."
That was the last time Don and I ever played golf.
A fool’s mouth lashes out with pride,
but the lips of the wise protect them.
Proverbs 14:3
(If your cat is Mittens, forgive me...)
