I can be a babbling fool...

Last night I was at a cookout with a bunch of people I didn't know who are in Nursing School with my wife, and last weekend I was in NYC officiating a wedding for a friend from high school, and I was reminded of an annoying personal habit...when I get nervous around people I don't know or haven't seen for a long time I say stupid stuff.

The happy couple at the rehearsal dinner

 

Proverbs 10:19 says "too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut" (NLT). Now for the record I don't think I said anything that was outright sin but more so just things that are silly, not needed, or don't add to the conversation. I found myself, numerous times in both settings, trying to make jokes when I'm not a comedian. I try to be witty with quick one-liners which is not me. Sometimes they worked or were funny, but most of the times they fell flat. In both instances I found myself thinking "relax, be yourself, don't try to be someone you aren't!" (In case you were wondering when it counted most, during the wedding ceremony, I stuck to my pre-planned words and it went really well!)

 Part of the old "Office Staff" reunited for the wedding

"The wise are glad to be instructed, but babbling fools fall flat on their faces" (Proverbs 10:8, NLT). As I was reading my devotions this morning I was struck by the numerous proverbs about speech, the tongue, wise words, good counsel, the foolish mouth, deceiving lips, etc. While I am behind in my DWB readings in Proverbs (confession) I know this is only the beginning of the treasure-trove of Proverbs that talks about how to speak, or not speak. And so again I was convicted, why do I say things when I'm nervous? 

Newlyweds caught looking at multiple cameras at the reception

 

I know that "the words of the godly are like sterling silver" (Prov. 10:20) and yet when I am in these settings I get all tongue-tied and speak before I think. For example, last night I was saying goodbye to a bunch of people I had just met and made the comment "It was nice to meet some of you!" Oops! I wasn't trying to communicate that "I liked those of you I met but the rest of you I'm glad I didn't meet." Rather, what I was thinking was "I only spoke with some of you, but I wished I had spoken with all of you, so those that I met I enjoyed chatting with for a bit." What was meant to be a parting comment turned into a stumbling affair where I walked away thinking, "just leave and don't try to say anything more."

Old friends reunited for a festive occasion

 

In both social scenarios I know that ultimately I need to extend grace to myself. My tendency, as I am well aware of, is to be too hard on myself. Plus, it's natural and human to get nervous So, grace extended and I move on with life. But in the end, both settings were a good reminder to think before I speak because "the words of the godly encourage many, but fools are destroyed by their lack of common sense" (Prov. 10:21, NLT).