Oink! Oink!

Today PPW focused on verse 11 in her study of the Proverbs 31 woman that says: The heart of her husband trusts in her,and he will have no lack of gain.

Her definition on trust and her commentary were in tune with my recent thoughts on discretion in our use of words and the taming of the tongue.

In my focus on words, I like to imagine my words as James portrays. As most women, words easily flow from my mouth like a fountain. Unfortunately, the sweet, fresh water is too often contaminated with salty and bitter water.

When in Proverbs trust is discussed, I interpret it to say that my husband is letting down his guard when he gets home, or at least that is ideally what would happen every night. He is trusting that I will use discretion when I speak to him about the concerns of our household, the state of our finances, or the raising of our children.

To abuse that trust with angry or unkind words, whether or not they're specifically directed to him, only piles more stress and responsibility on his shoulders. Accusing words and irrational outbursts only make him have to put is guard back up in a place that should be a haven for him.

Like a fountain that flows, there are times when I feel inappropriate words slip from my tongue and it's difficult to close the floodgates once those words gain momentum. So how do I maintain discretion? How do I tame my tongue?

There's nothing like the following verse to stop a bitter or salty flow of words midstream than the following: Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful women who shows no discretion. Proverbs 11:22

Remember the animated movie Pinnochio? Specifically the part when he found himself tranforming into a donkey and when he opened his mouth he heard "Heeeeehaww!". Imagine if whenever you spoke without discretion you began to transform into that pig mentioned in Proverbs. With snout sprouting where your nose was and a curled tail popping out behind you, those angry or unkind words begin to sound like, "OinkOink,Oink! Squeeeeal!!! Oink!", to your husband and anyone else listening.

Crazy, huh? It sometimes makes me laugh. Other times I just get embarrassed. It's not the prettiest picture. It's actually quite horrible. But either way, it helps me step back and consider my words before I speak.

So each time I feel my tongue about to slip, I simply think or say to myself: Oink! Oink!