October 25th
It’s not that I’m getting old or anything like that, but as time progresses I have noticed that one’s physical abilities tend to change over time. Some things improve as you develop and refine certain skills; other things worsen as physical limitations impose themselves for various and sundry reasons. There is one thing, however, that a body can do regardless of one’s age or physical condition. No matter how achey, breaky, creaky or squeaky one’s physical being becomes, as long as we are able to speak we will always have sufficient flexibility for firmly fix a foot in our mouth.
Whether it’s the classic: “Isn’t the new mayor a useless jerk,” eliciting the frosty response: “She’s my sister.” or the ever-popular “Wow, that’s a funny wig!” resulting in the tight-lipped question “What wig?” we all have the inate and permanent talent of saying exactly the wrong thing at the perfectly wrong moment. Just ask my wife: she’s constantly wondering I can walk with both feet always planted in my oral opening.
This incredible flexibility arises not so much from one’s physical capacity as it does from one’s mental acuity. Human beings are incredibly smart. We can store a lot of information and quite often we can access that impressive database very quickly. That speed, however, can be our downfall as it often exceeds our speed to make good moral judgements. Or sometimes it’s not so much a matter of speed as it as a matter of choice. Quickly accessing a smart-aleck comment without taking an equally speedy look through our kindness data-bank before deciding to release it out in public usually puts us in that rather awkward foot-in-mouth position that simultaneously leaves us without a leg to stand on.
Jesus was a master at speaking his mind, at letting loose with just the right comment, and never getting his foot caught anywhere near his mouth. In fact, his foot usually ended up right against folks backsides, thus reminding them of their own careless words, pointing out their loveless attitude or generally giving them pause to think about how they were messing up their relationship with God. Never mean or cold-hearted, He did so not to hurt, but to help folks move away from their unhealthy attitudes and on towards a better understanding of God’s expectations.
Jesus' attitude, even when expressed sharply and concisely, was always one of love. His words were never used as weapons; they were tools to straighten out the crooked, to restore truth and to tear down walls of ignorance. When we speak with love, carefully considering our words before blurting them out, we can never go wrong. It might lead to the loss of our ability to insert our feet into our mouths, but I don’t think that would be a bad thing. At least that’s the way I see it.
