Dear God, Help Me to Zip It!

Does anyone remember Dr. Evil and Scottie in the movie Austin Powers? I laugh so hard every time Dr. Evil tells Scottie to "Zip It!" and then Scottie gets soooo frustrated. Well, I've realized recently that God has been trying to get me to Zip It, but I haven't been listening. Anyone have that same problem? I feel like I need to get my word out there because "so and so" needs to hear it. Pahlease, I'm not that important. God has brought this problem to my attention a lot recently. I think He wants us to have a talk about this. We've all been there, haven't we? Someone completely discounts your opinion on a matter or the way you have been cleaning your house your entire life or cooking or wearing your clothes or doing your hair or how you speak and on and on and on. I have been faced with this time and time again in the last few years. Sometimes I just cry because they really hurt my feelings or I get incredibly angry or very frustrated or I just brood about it for a long time and then I finally explode all over my poor husband. Yeah, see, that's one of the big problems with putting myself in such a state - I hurt others around me.

My biggest problem is my mouth at work. I get so frustrated for a variety of reasons (i.e. my coworker never got my important email because she doesn't know how to open the email application or open an attachment), none of which constitute my haughty and rude responses. I think it's ok to say certain things because I'm not saying it to the "offenders" face, just to my coworkers. Ummmmm, yeah, not cool. Or how about this, you know without a doubt how something should be done and if only the company would do it, it would save a bunch of money and things would work better. But no one will listen to you because you're the young one. Talk about frustrating, but not my place to give my two cents. Even though I have done so on occasion, but again, not to the party who offended. So how am I any better than that person? Well, three things happened recently that have brought this issue front and center.

1) Last week I started my new Bible study, Can We Talk? by Priscilla Shirer. The first week is called Fire Starter (ie our words start fires in our lives and others lives that hurt). Yikes! So here are the verses from Day1 and Day 2:

James 3:8-11
8No one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. 9With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; 10from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My breathren, these things ought not be this way. 11Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water?

James 1:19,26 AMP
19Let every man be quick to hear [a ready listener], slow to speak, slow to take offense and slow to get angry. 26If anyone thinks himself to be religious (piously observant of the external duties of his faith) and does not bridle his tongue but deludes his own heart, this person's religious service is worthless (futile, barren).

Matthew 12:34-36, AMP
34You offspring of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil (wicked)? for out of the fullness (the overflow, the superabundance) of the hear the mouth speaks. 35The good man from his inner good treasure flings forth good things, and the evil man out of his inner evil storehouse flings forth evil things. 36But I tell you, on the day of judgement men will have to give account for every idle (inoperative, nonworking) word they speak.

Quite convicting, especially since the sentence to begin the week is: Your words revel the truth about your character.

2) Dr. Chuck, my pastor at Broadmoor Baptist Church, gave a very convicting sermon last night. Here are a few points which stuck out to me:

• To say you love someone and then talk behind their back is hypocrisy.
• To love someone who is hard to love simply because it's what a Christian is supposed to do is not love.
• Instead of asking God to change a person so you can love them, we should be asking God to help us love that person as he loves us, despite their imperfections.

His sermon last night and yesterday morning are great to listen to regarding this subject. Check out any of Dr. Chuck's sermons and you will be blessed.

3) Sunday School this week. One of the husbands in our class taught this week and we were in the book of John. We studied John 15:1-8 The Vine and The Branches -1I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit.... After we read this verse we began talking about our mouths at work - do you think God is trying to tell me something? But I realized that I am not the only one with this problem. Men and women alike have the problem, it just manifests itself differently.

So anyway, I'm working on my words reflecting my heart while giving my heart to God and letting him mold it to reflect his Son's.

"Dear God, please help me to 'Zip It'.

AMEN"