Open Mouth, Insert….Destruction?

We’ve all heard the phrase, “open mouth…insert foot”.  This phrase simply means that we have said something that has caused embarrassment or shame to us…I couldn’t really find a good explanation for the origin of the phrase.  But Proverbs 13:3 seems to take this idea a little bit further.  Let’s read verses 1-6:

A wise son heeds his father’s instruction,
But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.  2 A man shall eat well by the fruit of his mouth,
But the soul of the unfaithful feeds on violence.  3 He who guards his mouth preserves his life,
But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.  4 The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing;
But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich. 5 A righteous man hates lying,
But a wicked man is loathsome and comes to shame.  6 Righteousness guards him whose way is blameless,
But wickedness overthrows the sinner.

Proverbs is full of verses that speak to the danger of the tongue and that our words really do matter; but this phrase struck me as very significant.  We are definitely to guard our mouth, to watch what we say.  Much destruction can come simply through opening wide the lips.  If we just say what we want to say most of the time, we can truly end up with a big, big problem.

I think this also has an application to Facebook.  Please be careful what you say about others on Facebook.  In some situations, inappropriate comments have literally led to destruction.  Most of the time that doesn’t happen, but there is great damage nonetheless.

In wisdom,
Eric