Be careful little mouth

"Oh, be careful little mouth what you say! Oh, be careful little mouth what you say! For the Father up above is looking down in love, so be careful little mouth what you say!" 

Have you ever though about your tongue in relation to your soul? We know that when we speak the right thing at the right time, others can benefit greatly from it. But when we don't speak rightly it often results in some kind of trouble. 

James 3:8-10 "But the tongue no man can tame, an unquiet evil, full of deadly poison. By it we bless God and the Father: and by it we curse men, who are made after the likeness of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be."

Why is it that our speech causes so much trouble? When we think about it, we really take speech for granted. The ability to express what we are feeling, what we want, what we are doing, and who we are through our speech is unique. It is true that we also express these thing through our facial expressions and other body language, such as pointing or sighing, but it is our speech that gives the details. 

It's our first reaction to an offense. If Some one says something mean to us, we say something mean back to them. Likewise, it's often or first reaction to a compliment. Speech is so important to us, and we use  and misuse it so often that we forget it is a gift. 

Everytime I think of the mouth in regards to speech and sin, I think of Isaiah's words about his mouth. Isaiah 6:5 "And I said: Woe is me, because I have held my peace; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people that hath unclean lips, and I have seen with my eyes the King the Lord of hosts." 

And then I think of the seraphim's response to that plea for help. 

Isaiah 6:6-7 "And one of the seraphims flew to me, and in his hand was a live coal, which he had taken with the tongs off the altar. And he touched my mouth, and said: Behold this hath touched thy lips, and thy iniquities shall be taken away, and thy sin shall be cleansed."

Now think about this for a minute. We are a lot like Isaiah in this regard. We are people of unclean lips, living among other people of unclean lips. We abuse speech so often in so many different ways. And guess what else? You know, when you look at the Eucharist, you too are seeing "the King The Lord of Hosts," though under a veil. How clean should be the mouth that receives Him! 

Especially because you have not had a coal from Heaven touch your lips, you have had God Himself touch your lips. Every time you receive the Eucharist, He touches your lips again!

Wow. I don't know when that hit me, but I certainly hope it hits you. We really should have the cleanest and purest speech around, but we don't. We're all humans, we forget all these things as soon as we're tempted against them. And often, we speak so quickly that we don't even have time to remember them anyway. We all need to slow down! 

So be careful little mouth what you say. Because the Father up above is looking down in Love, the Son has touched your lips and been in your soul, and the Holy Spirit has been waiting to inspire you to speak the right words, or stay in holy silence, for quite a while now. Let Him speak through you! 

(Now, somebody, put that to music.)