“Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you.” Proverbs 4:24

In 2012, our family started a new Christmas tradition. We had recently discovered a

wonderful, family owned Christmas Tree Farm that was only a couple miles from our

house and decided that each year we would go and pick out our family Christmas Tree,

filling the house with the beautiful smell of a freshly cut Evergreen.

On the way home, our daughter decided to bring her mom and dad in on an event that

had taken place earlier that day in her first grade classroom. As she explained it, one of

the boys in her first grade class had gotten in trouble for saying a “bad word.” It quickly

occurred to me that our family outing to the Barker Tree Farm had just morphed into an

important parenting moment on the the importance of words and the way in which our

words reflect what exists within our heart. This was “Fatherhood 101” and I was ready to

go with a small devotional/parenting moment complete with biblical references.

First, to confirm that the word was actually in the “bad” category I asked C.A. what word

did (we will call him Timmy) use in class. C.A. replied: “Timmy used the four letter word

that begins with “s.h.” I then began my lesson by quoting Luke 6:45 “from the overflow

of the heart, the mouth speaks” and unpacking the connection of our heart and our

mouth. I could feel my daughter leaning in to her Father’s wisdom as she acknowledged

the truth in what I was explaining to her. As far as parenting goes, it was one of my finer

moments. In fact, I was so impressed with myself that I completely forgot I had a

Christmas tree on top of my 1998 Ford Expedition. As I pulled into the garage the

Christmas Tree stand hit the garage door and split the tree trunk which sounded like a

gun shot. It was terrifying. In fact, it startled Carrie so much that she blurted out the

same word that Timmy had said earlier that day in class. In 25 years of marriage I think

it’s the only time I’ve heard my wife say a “bad word.”

When the circumstances of life frighten us or make us angry or confuse us, our words

provide a glimpse into our hearts, revealing places that require God’s grace and

sanctification.

Q: What words do you use when stressed or scared? What does this “overflow” reveal

about your heart?

By Jimmy Carter

Your Daily Missions Moment:

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