Advent Devotional Day 7: Messes Made by Mouths

December 7:

B.C. verse: Luke 1:18-25

A.D. verse: Psalm 37: 3-7a; Psalm 20:4

Christmas hymn: “Good Christian Men Rejoice”

Hymn for today: “Standing on the Promises” and “What Faith Can Do” by Kutless

I have a terminal condition. Even though there are periods of remission in which it seems to be under control, I am fairly certain that I will suffer from this condition for the rest of my natural life, so here it is:

I constantly put my foot in my mouth.

As an example, a couple of years ago, I was saving seats at some sort of music concert at the high school. To kill some time before the concert, I turned around and began talking to the woman behind me. I knew her casually through Mike (who wasn’t there yet). The woman had put on some weight since the last time I saw her; in fact, her weight gain centered specifically around her belly in the form of a rounded mound.

I’m pretty sure you know where this is going.

I asked her, “So, when’s the big day?”

She replied, “What are you talking about?”

I continued, “There must be something special coming up in your future.”

She furrowed her brows and gave me a quizzical look. “I don’t think so?”

Suddenly, a prickly sensation started at my hairline and rippled to the back of my head. It was the ultimate “OH-CRAP!” moment, and I was panicking as to how to recover. Suddenly, I remembered a detail that Mike had mentioned about this woman. I stuttered, “Uh, I heard you guys are going to Mexico.”

“Oh that,” she said and rolled her eyes, “That’s not for another six months. We have plenty of time to. . .”

I didn’t even listen to the rest of it. I was SO relieved that an embarrassing social faux pas had been averted. That was close. This time, I got off the hook. Usually, I’m not so lucky.

Neither was Zechariah, apparently. In today’s passage, Zechariah found himself in hot water because he questioned the angel, Gabriel. “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man, and my wife is well along in years” (Luke 1: 18). His punishment for lipping off is losing the ability to be lippy. “And now you will be silent and not speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at the appointed time” (v. 20).

The Bible is pretty clear regarding the destructive nature and danger of an uncontrolled tongue. “But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself” (James 3: 5-6).  

Seriously, though, Zechariah didn’t say anything BAD; he just expressed his doubts. What’s so bad about that?

The fact that he said anything at all is the problem.  Verbalizing our thoughts is a way of internalizing them. Likewise, saying them aloud and making them public forms our character in other people’s eyes. As the verses in James indicate, our verbalized thoughts can also corrupt our entire bodies.  By questioning the angel, and therefore, God, Zechariah not only was doubting God; he was, in a sense, stating that he knew better – in this case, that progeny was an impossibility. While I am pretty sure that disrespect was not Zechariah’s intention, his comments indicated a fissure of faith, and God cared enough about Zechariah to correct the problem, which, in this case, mean months of silence.  Zechariah would not have plenty of time to listen and think before speaking.

 If only we could all be so lucky to have that punishment. Especially me.

“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him” (Psalm  37:7).

Daily Challenge: Be kind/do something kind for someone today whom you generally dislike.