Loose Lips Sink Ships
I served in the United States Navy for eleven years. At that time, we had a saying, “Loose lips sink ships”. What that meant to the Navy was a concept called, “Operational Security” or OPSEC. Basically, the saying meant that if you told everyone where your ship was going and when it was going to be there, it would be easy to intercept it and sink it or take it over. When it came to the planned operations of the ship, the best policy was to say nothing at all.
Proverbs and James both have something to say about loose lips. Proverbs 10:19 says, “When there are many words, sin is unavoidable, but the one who controls his lips is prudent.” James 3:2 says, “For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is mature, able also to control the whole body.”
Both verses remind us that our mouths can get us into trouble. Our mouths can get us into trouble with others, the law, and even with ourselves and with God. Who has not felt the sting of sharing a story about someone only to have that person walk in on them while telling it? Even if it is a harmless story, the adrenaline rush, cold fingertips, and flushed cheeks reveal that we feel embarrassed and have wronged someone. Or who has not felt the sting of someone else gossiping about them by telling things, true or untrue, designed to harm their reputation in the eyes of another?
I personally have messed up in this area way more than I care to remember. As you might imagine, as a preacher, and an extrovert, I tend to think out loud and be quite loquacious. Adding to that my insecurity and desire for people to like me, and I have a dangerous combination of ingredients more volatile than trinitrotoluene (TNT). I guess the reason that this scripture speaks to me is that I am guilty of so much with my mouth. I tend to exaggerate. I am really working on this because exaggeration is just lying from a somewhat true foundation. When I estimate that we had 300 in church on Sunday, but we really had 250, I am exaggerating. I may have a noble goal in mind, such as encouraging our people with what God is doing in our church, but I am not being honest. It may make people like me for a moment, but in the end, I will be found out. I have damaged friendships because of exaggeration. It is a matter of integrity.
Another area that I have messed up is in the area lying. Since I was a kid, it seems that I have always been tempted to lie my way out of trouble rather than take the punishment. It almost never works. When I was a kid, I would get in trouble, lie about it, and then get punished for the offense and for the lie. Not a good equation if the goal is less whippings. As an adult, I find that I must constantly fight this as well. When I have hurt someone’s feelings, rather than just own up to it, I must fight the tendency to attempt to rationalize, talk, or lie my way out of trouble. This never works because eventually the truth with come out.
One last way that my tongue gets me in trouble is when I use my mouth to tear others down, in their presence, or out of their presence. Since I think out loud, when someone offends me or does something with which I disagree, I tend to talk about it. This is never good, and I am constantly trying to find a way to stop it. For instance, someone hurts my feelings or disagrees with me, I have a great temptation to want to justify myself and gather a following, so I go and talk to others about it instead of praying about it and trusting it to God. This almost always leads to the words getting back to the person with whom I disagree, and it makes the situation worse. I am trying to learn to go directly to people and discuss it or to just trust God with it. I am not there yet, but with God’s grace, I will be someday.
So, what does this all mean? For me, it means that I need to be vigilant that I don’t use my mouth in a way that will enable Satan to sink the ship of my church, my home, my integrity, my marriage, my community, or my business. What does it mean to you?