Minding Ps, Qs and Proverbs

Proverbs 4:23-26

When I first came across this scripture, it read like this: 

23 Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life. 24 Don't use your mouth to tell lies; don't ever say things that are not true. 25 Keep your eyes focused on what is right, and look straight ahead to what is good. 26 Be careful what you do, and always do what is right.

I thought, yeah, cool. Right on. Those are words I like to live by! I aught paint that on the wall! Naturally, I did what I generally do when I find a bit of scripture that fits my heart- grabbed my Bible and set to underlining the verses. So, I pop open my handy little NIV travel Bible and flip, flip, flip... where's Proverbs? After Psalms, right? Yeah. Got it. Okay... 4... 23...

"Above all else, guard your heart, 

for everything you do flows from it. 

Keep your mouth free of perversity;

keep corrupt talk far from your lips. 

Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.

Give careful thought to the paths for your feet

and be steadfast in all your ways.

Ah! Perversity!? Corrupt talk?! Aw man, this is pretty heavy. I better check this out in my King James. (Yeah, cuz that'll make it sound less intimidating.)

23. Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. 24. Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. 

Huh. This whole "perversity" thing really stuck with me. So, I pondered it a bit, then I brought up the verses to my husband. His Biblical prowess is far more refined than mine, and I know I can always default to him and get some really thoughtful feedback. The dear-heart actually Googled the Bible's definition of perversity:

PERVERS'ITY, n: Perverseness, crossness, disposition to thwart or cross.

Well, that was cleared up. It didn't mean being crude. But the heart of the matter remained. These verses were reminding me that I needed to check myself. I always make it a point to tell the truth. Lying doesn't get you anywhere. So I'm all right on that account. Perverse in this sense refers to the above definition and long ago I learned to put down the flaming sword unless absolutely provoked. Froward pertains to willful and headstrong and I'd "like" to think I've toned that down "some". As for keeping a straight path, I always strive to "do the right thing". 

What gnawed at me was this: I was raised by a sailor. I was quoting George Carlin by the age of 10. Given these two facts, you can imagine the vivid mural of positively crass obscenities that have fluttered from my lips. The phrase "gutter mouth" comes to mind. I swear, throw out crude zingers. Upon swift reflection, not exactly a Godly tongue. Although profanity wasn't mentioned here, this was the angle that spoke to me. (It is interesting how three different people can read the same bit of scripture and each cultivates their own take). 

How can I reflect God's light when all too often my choice of words falls short of His glory? It's more than a bad habit. It's part of my identity. Habits, we can break. But banishing a portion of who you are? That's a much taller order. Yes, God loves me. Lock, stock and tongue in cheek. Can't say He loves how I elect to express myself all the time. It's almost as if I can hear Him say, 'I've given you a gift for words... why do you feel the need to use the filthy ones?' 

Ever heard of "Messy Spirituality"? I guess this falls into that category. We don't like to change when we're comfortable. But I know I need to strive to be a better representative and part of that means cleaning up my language. 

What really hits it home? The Lord blessed me with an extremely bright little girl who is just now beginning to utter her first words. I'm glad it was "Quack" and not something that shares 3/5 of those letters.