Keep Your Tongue!

If you haven't gathered it by now, you will soon.. I absolutely LOVE kids. Babysitting is not a drudgery for me. Teaching KidZone is not a "have to."

Why?

Besides the fact that they're adorable, because they're so blunt!

Quotes from today in KidZone:

"Uno, dos, tres, quatro... That's Dora's language."

"We have two cats. One's name is Angel, but we call her Paingel because she's a pain."

"Singing Jesus songs is the best-est."

"She babysitted me and my brother back when I was 4 (because that was.. Um... 2 months ago =))"

"I don't want to do this anymore, I just want to sit here and be bored."

"I'm going to sit with you because you're pretty."

"I'm the last kid here. My parents didn't forget me though, they're just busy talking."

I love how blunt they are! Granted, there is a fine line between being blunt and being rude, but for the most part they speak what they think.

I wish more people my age would do that... You rarely know if you're offending someone, if you did something that was 'too much,' if you honestly hurt their feelings, or even if you have something stuck in your teeth! We're so focused on being "proper," that we forget it's okay to be truthful, as long as we lace it with love.

The tongue is our greatest asset and our greatest downfall. We use it to praise, and curse. To love, and hurt. To build, and break. In James 3 it talks about how the "tongue is a fire." (Side note - I knew there were a lot of verses in the Bible about speech/tongue but I really had no idea there were as many as there are... It's definitely worth looking at.) The tongue, as it says, is a small part of the body, but the most powerful. It's like the rudder on a ship or the bit in a horses mouth, and no one can tame it.

The easiest way to "tame" it is to censor it. If you wouldn't say it with God (or your parents, for that matter..) sitting in front of you, keep your mouth shut. If it is meant to hurt, degrade, put-down, or insult someone, shut your mouth! Bite your tongue if you have to... It will save you some pain in the long run.

Be blunt, speak the truth, but speak it in love. Strive to build others up, encourage them, and be honest! You won't regret it, and they will thank you for it... (eventually).