You are on page 1of 17

ZONDERVAN

Keep It Shut
Copyright 2015 by Karen Ehman
This title is also available as a Zondervan ebook. Visit www.zondervan.com/ebooks.
Requests for information should be addressed to:
Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ehman, Karen, 1964 Keep it shut : what to say, how to say it, and when to say nothing at all /
Karen Ehman. 1st [edition].
pages cm
ISBN 978-0-310-33964-9 (softcover)
1. Oral communicationReligious aspectsChristianity. I. Title.
BV4597.53.C64E36 2015
241.672dc23
2014040224
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible,
New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from The Amplified Bible. Copyright
1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Used by permission.
Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard
Version, copyright 2001 by Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights
reserved.
Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard
Bible, Copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. All rights
reserved.
Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,
Wheaton, Illinois. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked CEV are taken from the Contemporary English Version
1991, 1992, 1995 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.
Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book
are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an
endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these
sites and numbers for the life of this book.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed
reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Published in association with The Fedd Agency, P.O. Box 341973, Austin, TX 78734.
Cover design: Dual Identity
Cover illustration: iStockphoto
Interior design: Katherine Lloyd
First printing November 2014 / Printed in the United States of America

9780310339649_KeepItShut_trade_int.indd 4

11/13/14 8:35 AM

Contents

1 From S pa rks to Raging Fi re

The Awful Power of the Tongue - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 9

2 S quabbles, Spat s, and S uch

How to Communicate with Family, Friends,


and Other Necessary People - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 21

3 S top F i ll i ng t he Ga p

Learning to Listen - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 42

4 Z ip It a nd P ray

How to Talk to God Before You Talk to Others - - - - - - - 59

5 M ot i ves a nd Ma nners

Its Not Just What You Say; Its Why and How You Say It - - 78

6 B eh i nd t he Sc reen

Controlling Your Digital Tongue - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 95

7 B ut Im Just Sh a ri ng a P ray e r Re q u e s t

Stopping Gossip and Hearsay - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 112

8 Ly ing, Loving, a nd P eople Ple a s i n g

On Flattery and Speaking the Truth in Love - - - - - - - - 134

9780310339649_KeepItShut_trade_int.indd 7

11/13/14 8:35 AM

9 H url ing Hat e or Heali ng Hearts

Containing Your Anger - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 155

10

S omet h i ng to Ta lk About

11

G ot ta Have t he Last Word


Tips and Tricks for Tempering the Tongue - - - - - - - - 189

Wonderful Ways to Use Your Words - - - - - - - - - - - - 168

Acknowledgments - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 207
More Things You Can Do - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -211
About Karen - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -227

9780310339649_KeepItShut_trade_int.indd 8

11/13/14 8:35 AM

From Sparks
to Raging Fire
The Awful Power of the Tongue

Death and life are in the power of the tongue,


and those who love it will eat its fruits.
Proverbs 18:21 ESV

I sat alone at a corner table in the sterile, gray, middle-school lunchroom fiddling with the peas and carrots on my mustard-colored
plastic lunch tray. I wasnt sitting at the usual table near the front
of the lunchroom. That privilege was reserved only for those in the
popular group at my midwestern school in the late 1970s.
Oh, how different things had been just a week prior! I was
privileged to hang out at the cool table then, occupying one
of its sought-after metal and Formica spaces. But that was before
it happened: my banishment from the popular group, which
resulted in my need to sit at a normal table like the rest of my
eighth-grade class.
I could feel the clique of teens staring at me even though
I never looked up from my tray. I can only imagine the things
they were saying about me. How could I have let this happen?
9

9780310339649_KeepItShut_trade_int.indd 9

11/13/14 8:35 AM

KEEP IT S HUT

How could I go from being one of the popular kids to now


dreading school so much, especially lunchtime when the hierarchy of middle-school culture was on full display there in the
lunchroom. Why?
Because of my words.
My words had brought me to this place. Just a week earlier I had been with a group of the in crowd of boys. I was
the sports reporter for the school newspaper. We were laughing and discussing our basketball teams latest triumph over our
crosstown rival. But soon the conversation turned to what many
middle schoolers talk about: what boys liked what girls, and vice
versa. The wintertime dance was coming up, and so naturally
the topic rose to the top of our talk.
One of the boys was considering taking a friend of mine
whom Ill call Janet. I knew Janet really liked this boy, but I also
knew a secret about her, a secret that, although nothing serious
or scandalous, was embarrassing nonetheless. You see, at the last
dance in the fall she had snuck a kiss with another boy in our
class under the bleachers when no chaperones were looking.
That boy was one of my good friends, and he confided in me
just what his opinion was of the stolen kiss: he thought that she
kissed like a fish!
Now I should not have taken this juicy piece of information
and wielded it against my friend, but I loved to get attention
from the boys in my class (and I secretly had a crush on the boy
who wanted to take Janet), and so I let the words tumble out.
Hmm ... You might want to think that one through. You see,
Bill Warner said he thinks Janet kisses like a fish.
At that the entire group of boys burst into roaring laughter.
I assumed that this meant Janet would get no invitation to the
winter dance and the top secret info I leaked would never be
divulged to her. But I was wrong. Instead of this information
10

9780310339649_KeepItShut_trade_int.indd 10

11/13/14 8:35 AM

From Spar ks to Raging Fir e

deterring any boys from asking her to the dance, the one who
had been considering taking her instead proceeded to tell her
what I said. And to ask her to the dance anyway.
To say that she was upset would be an understatement.
She was livid! She gathered all of the popular girls around,
and together they shook their heads in disbelief, their Farrah
Fawcettstyle bangs swaying in the air, as they expressed their
horror that a girlfriend could do such a thing to another sister.
It didnt take long for the mob of middle schoolers to make a
choice and then take action. They completely banned me from
the popular group. No longer could I sit at their table, occupy a
space next to them on the bleachers during a sporting event, or
even sit near them in any of our classes. For the first time in my
nine years of going to public school, I absolutely dreaded going.
I had a stomachache every morning riding the bus to school. I
was lonely walking through the halls between class periods. And
once home, the phone never rang with one of the girls calling,
wanting to chat.
Trying to find a new group of kids to hang out with halfway
through the school year in eighth grade can be rather difficult.
Cliques have formed. Friendships have been forged. And it just
didnt seem there was any room for a cool kids reject like me.
My only relief came from a group of three girls who took me
in and allowed me to sit with them in the lunchroom. But the
weekends were torturous and lonely.
No longer did I get invited home after school to hang out for
a few hours with one of my former friends. There were no more
invitations to roller-skating parties. Or Friday night sleepovers.
Not even an invitation to hang out at the mall, grab a soda and
an afternoon matinee, and just enjoy being thirteen.
The remainder of the year was hard, and I was so thankful to see summer vacation. Thankfully, the next year when I
11

9780310339649_KeepItShut_trade_int.indd 11

11/13/14 8:35 AM

KEEP IT S HUT

entered high school we would be joining with another middle


school to form our freshman class. I hoped and prayed that this
would mean I could find a new group of friends and begin to
enjoy being a teenager again.
Sometimes I still think about that lonely eighth-grade year
and how my choice to repeat something that was said brought
about such a horrible time in my life. Now, what I said was not a
lie. Bill Warner had said that she kissed like a fish. But my decision to repeat those words was a poor one. Especially when he
later denied he ever said it! (And of course that was way before
text messaging, so I couldnt save his words as a screenshot for
proof later.)
My little middle-school drama taught me one important
lesson:
Our words are powerful, and they have consequences.
Whether it is a string of words screamed out in anger during the height of a marital spat, or a politician who chooses to
lie in order to win votes, or even just a middle schooler trying to
impress a group of boys. Our words are powerful, and our words
have consequences.

It Only Takes a Spark ...


It only takes a spark to get a fire going ... So started the popular campground song I sang growing up in my local youth
group. Each night as we sat staring at the flickering flames of
the campfire, someone would start to sing that popular chorus.
One by one, each of us would join in, proclaiming the power of
sparks to get a fire going, until all of the voices were singing in
unity, making loud praise with our voices.
Our words are like sparks. They may start small, but they
can ignite a wildfire of destruction and devastation. The author
12

9780310339649_KeepItShut_trade_int.indd 12

11/13/14 8:35 AM

From Spar ks to Raging Fir e

of the book of James was the first to make the analogy: Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great
boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.
The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the
body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of ones
life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell (James 3:56).
Yes, what starts as a little spark can soon gain momentum
and become a booming blaze.
In the early summer of 2013, I flew to Colorado Springs for
a radio show taping. I have been to the Springs several times in
the past and always look forward to my visits there. Although
the plane ride is a long one, the descent into Colorado is always
breathtaking. My heart leaps as I view the mountains and the
lush green grass and the natural rock formations.
This landing, however, was different. Just a few days prior,
a horrible fire had broken out, and now the Black Forest Fire,
as it was called, raged all around. Off in the distance I could
see smoke. At other places I could see the blackened, charred
remains of what had once been green foliage.
A friend had lost her home. Others on Facebook asked for
prayers for relatives and friends of theirs who also were affected
by the flames. When it was all over, 486 homes were destroyed,
and two people died. The Black Forest Fire was considered the
most devastating fire in the history of the state, and the images
I saw and the social media about it were terrifying. All in all,
over 14,000 acres were burned, and the damage was estimated
at over $85 million.
Just how did this disaster start? Record-setting heat had
been in the region and a red flag warning from the National
Weather Service had been issued. In the early afternoon hours
of June 11, a man reported a tiny structure on fire, so small that
he could capture the flames on his cell phone camera. However,
13

9780310339649_KeepItShut_trade_int.indd 13

11/13/14 8:35 AM

KEEP IT S HUT

the record heat coupled with the blowing winds soon fanned the
flames, and the fire spread to over 100 acres. And then it spread
to 1,000and on and on and on.
How fitting that James should use fire as an analogy for
how our words can quickly spread, causing untold damage. No
wonder the Bible cautions us to be very careful with our words.
They are fiery indeed!

Corrupt and Untamable


The passage in James also talks about how the tongue can corrupt our whole body. I myself know very well from the times I
have wished I could take back my words; often my whole body is
affected. My mind races with regret. My heart pounds. My stomach churns and becomes tied up in knots as I fret and stress over
what now might happen. My fingers fidget, and I cant seem to
concentrate. Sometimes my feet pace as I ponder what I possibly
can do now to get myself out of the royal mess I now find myself in.
If we read a little farther in James, we find that the tongue
cannot be tamed (James 3:78). Every creature, reptile, bird,
or animal can be tamed, but not the tongue. Imagine a colossal circus full of every kind of creature: dancing bears, prancing horseseven a ferocious looking feline or two performing
tricks or jumping through hoops when their trainers give the
signal. But way off in one corner stands a booth with a closed
curtain and a sign that reads: The Utterly Untamable. Then,
at a very strategic time during the spectacular show the ring
master hushes the audience in order to display this beast that
will not bend. When he throws open the concealing curtain,
sitting behind it is a woman on a cell phone, chatting away!
With our tongues we curse men and women who are made
in Gods likeness and then, at other times, we praise God. Out
14

9780310339649_KeepItShut_trade_int.indd 14

11/13/14 8:35 AM

From Spar ks to Raging Fir e

of our mouths flow both praising and cursing. But, says the New
Testament writer, this should not be! James tells us that a spring
cannot suddenly shoot out both sweet and bitter water. Neither
can a fig tree produce olives or a grapevine decide to grow a
whole mess of figs instead of grapes. You cant get salt water from
a freshwater spring (James 3:912). Lesson? We should not have
both righteous and evil words coming from our tongues.

Misusing My Mouth
Often my mom used to say to us kids, whether we were leaving to
go to school for the day or headed off to a weekend social gathering, Be sure your sins will find you out. There was no shortage
of sins to choose from growing up as a midwestern teenager in
the seventies and eighties. However, I chose to stay away from the
cigarettes and booze and drugs. My problem was not with what
went into my mouth. My problem was what came out.
My words, sometimes even my lack of words, have caused
me much pain over the years. It hasnt always been that I have
gossiped or lied. Sometimes I just talk too much. Or I repeated
the words of others, which I should not have. Other times I have
tried to say the right thing, but it came out the wrong way. Or I
have said the right thing but in the presence of the wrong people
or at the wrong time. There was just no shortage to the ways I
could misuse my mouth.
A survey through the Bible reveals that God places great
importance on the way we use our speech. In fact, the words
tongue, talk, speak, words, mouth, and silence are used over 3,500
times in the Bible. The pages of Scripture are full of people just
like you and me. Some of them serve as a great example of how we
should use our words to build up, encourage, and speak for truth.
However, there are others who seem to be the poster children
15

9780310339649_KeepItShut_trade_int.indd 15

11/13/14 8:35 AM

KEEP IT S HUT

for just how not to use our mouths. They gossiped, whined, lied,
hurled sharp and angry words, or just said the wrong thing at the
wrong time. They tempted and urged others to sin. They told halftruths that really were whole lies. Or maybe they said the right
thing but at the wrong time or to the wrong person. This resulted
in many outcomes: from hurt feelings to wounded relationships
to even all-out wars between nations.
It really is the same today. Over the course of the last thirty
years of my adult life, I have seen words bring about dire situations. I have also seen them bring about much good. Truly,
death and life are in the power of the tongue. The key is knowing how to use our speech properly.
Psychiatrist Louann Brizendine states in The Female Brain,
Men use about seven thousand words per day. Women use
about twenty thousand.* (I do know of a few cases where Im
sure this is reversed, where the husband is a yacker while the
wife is pretty quiet!) Although Brizendines figures are still much
debated, just using the numbers on the lower range of both of
these estimates means that in the course of a year, women speak
about 7.3 million words and men utter about 2.5 million words.
All of these words flying off of our lips give ample opportunity
for mistakes, fumbles, and foibles. It also gives lots of room for
intentionally harmful words. But we must also think of the flip
side! How many words of love and care and encouragement can
we speak over the course of a year? The choice really is up to us,
since we are the ones who control our flapping jaws.

The Origin of Our Words


The Bible says that life and death are in the power of the tongue
(Proverbs 18:21). Before the words can get onto our tongue and
* Louann Brizendine, The Female Brain (New York: Morgan Road Books, 2006), 4.

16

9780310339649_KeepItShut_trade_int.indd 16

11/13/14 8:35 AM

From Spar ks to Raging Fir e

spill out of our mouths, dont they begin somewhere else first?
Yes, our words may emit from our lips, but they originate in our
minds and hearts before they find their way up to our mouths
and then to the ears of others. If we really want to learn to control
our tongues, knowing what to say, when to say it, and when to say
nothing at all, we need to drill down deeper. We need to delve
into our hearts and minds to discover the origin of our words,
both the life-giving ones and the ones that deal the deathblows.
The apostle Luke says, A good man brings good things
out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings
evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth
speaks what the heart is full of (Luke 6:45).
The mouth speaks what the heart has stored.
You see, my words dont just tumble out of my mouth randomly or by mistake. They are purposeful and intentional, having originated first in my heart. So if we have a mouth problem,
in actuality what we really have is a mind and heart issue. Even
in the case of my words gone wrong in middle school, it wasnt
just that I spoke the wrong words. My mind entertained a wrong
fact that turned into a wrong motive. My heart was intent on
evil. I just couldnt bear the thought of my latest crush and Janet
going to the dance together. So an idea first formed in my mind.
Then it trickled its way down into my heart where a root took
hold. Then, out of the abundance of my heart, the words bubbled up and spilled out of my lips, thereby causing pain, in this
case not only for Janet, but mostly for me.
The truth is, words are never accidental. To be sure, there
are times we utter careless words, but even then those words are
first formed in our minds, filtered to our hearts, and then given
permission to come out of our lips. So in our quest to use our
words in ways that are good and honor God, we must first consider the heart and mind from which they come.
17

9780310339649_KeepItShut_trade_int.indd 17

11/13/14 8:35 AM

KEEP IT S HUT

Care of the Heart and Mind


Every two or three years, my husband and I go to a center that
does (for a very reasonable price) an entire battery of medical
tests. His mother paid for us to go the first time about ten years
ago just after his father suffered a stroke. His grandmother had
also suffered a stroke, and so my mother-in-law was very concerned that if there were any early warning signals of Todd or me
possibly being susceptible to stroke, then she wanted us to know.
Thankfully, each year these tests have shown that not only
are our bones good and strong, but our hearts are in excellent
condition too. If we had trouble brewing under the surface and
were not having these tests administered, we might perhaps one
day wake up with chest pain or a heart attack or maybe even
a stroke. But because we are being careful to monitor things
underneath, we can be alerted if something starts to go wrong
before we notice it.
Long before our words go wrong, our hearts are the place
in which they fester and brew. We must take very careful care of
our hearts and their condition so that the words that come forth
will be pleasant and sweet instead of hurtful and bitter. But just
how do we do this?
Over thirty years of being a Christian, I have learned some
very important things about the connection between my words
and my heart. How I use my words, whether for good or for evil,
can often, although not always, be traced back to the quality
time I am (or am not) spending with the Lord each day, how
intentional I am about investing in my relationship with him,
and whether or not I am taking steps to become more like his
Son, Jesus Christ.
This caring for the heartthe source of my wordsisnt
some kind of spiritual hocus-pocus where I simply open up my
18

9780310339649_KeepItShut_trade_int.indd 18

11/13/14 8:35 AM

From Spar ks to Raging Fir e

Bible and the latest bestselling devotional book and read a few
words each morning. It requires being attentive to Gods still,
small voice throughout the day. Yes, I should be reading my
Bible daily and spending time in prayer asking God to help me
temper my words and my resulting actions. But the most important thing is responding to the Holy Spirits tap on my heart
when he whispers to me, urging me not to say something Im
about to blurt out or nudging me to speak up when I instead
want to remain silent. Caring for my heart in those moments
means asking the Holy Spirit to give me wisdomto keep silent
when that is best, or to give me the right words to say when I
just cant seem to find them. Perhaps a friend has lost a loved
one or is suffering because of some choices they or a close family member made. Or maybe I just need a little help creatively
wording something for my children to really get a point across,
so instead of just hearing Mom lecture again they really listen
to the truth behind my words.
So yes, by all means grab a good devotional book. Crack
open your Bible. Hit your knees in prayer. But do it all with
an attitude of openness that continues throughout the day. Be
attentive to the Holy Spirits whispers to youkeep silent if that
is the Spirits leading. Or open your mouth and allow the words
he is whispering and urging you to say to come out in your own
sweet little voice. It isnt easy. It takes effort. It is always easier
to ramble or hurl thoughtless words than it is to pause and then
choose our words carefully.
Are you willing to tryreally try? If youve struggled with
words like I have, you may have some mixed feelings in response
to this question. You really do want to try, but you also remember times youve really tried and failed. If thats the case, allow
me to whisper a little encouragement to that word-weary heart
of yours. Believe me when I say that if it is possible for someone
19

9780310339649_KeepItShut_trade_int.indd 19

11/13/14 8:35 AM

KEEP IT S HUT

like me to run her words through the grid of Gods holiness, it


is more than possible for you to do the same. One step at a time,
prayer by prayer and word by word, we really can temper our
talking so we have fewer words floating out there that we wish
we could take back. It is possiblefor me, and for you.

The Journey Begins ...


Are you ready for the journey? A quest to learn to say what we
should, when we should, and to know when to say nothing at all?
Today, you can hit the Restart button on the way you use your
speech. (Or perhaps click the Force-Quit command, shutting it
down altogether?) Maybe words you utter to a family member.
The language you use with your coworkers. How you talk to
your neighbor. Even the words that tap out from your fingertips
and onto the computer screen online.
Consider this your better-than-a-middle-school-sleepover
invitation to hang out with me as we learn together to temper
the untamable tongue, thus keeping the whole body in check.
For starters, in the days ahead I invite you to begin each day with
this simple prayer:
Father, I face another day in which I will be called upon to use
my words wisely and well. May they encourage those who listen.
May they speak truth but also be said in love. May I pause before
I pounce. May I be bold enough to speak when I would rather run
away. Lord, I give my mouth to you today. May what comes forth
be sweet and not bitter. May the journey each word takes from my
mind to my heart to my lips be guided by your hand. May what
comes out be life-giving rather than causing death. May my words
make you proud and bring you glory. In Jesus name, Amen.

20

9780310339649_KeepItShut_trade_int.indd 20

11/13/14 8:35 AM

KEEP IT SHUT
What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say
Nothing at All
By Karen Ehman
Keep It Shut by Karen Ehman explores how to better
control your tongue, knowing what to say and how to say
it, and realizing when it is best to say nothing at all.
From Bible times to modern times women have struggled
with their words. What to say and how to say it. What not
to say. When it is best to remain silent. And what to do
when youve said something you wish you could now take
back. In this book a woman whose mouth has gotten her
into loads of trouble shares the hows (and how-not-tos)
of dealing with the tongue.
Beyond just a how not to gossip book, this book
explores what the Bible says about the many ways we are
to use our words and the times when we are to remain
silent. Karen will cover using our speech to interact with
friends, co-workers, family, and strangers as well as in
the many places we use our words in private, in public,
online, and in prayer. Even the words we say silently to
ourselves. She will address unsolicited opinion-slinging,
speaking the truth in love, not saying words just to
people-please, and dealing with our verbal anger.
Christian women struggle with their mouths. Even though
we know that Scripture has much to say about how we
areand are notto use our words, this is still an
immense issue, causing heartache and strain not only in
family relationships, but also in friendships, work, and
church settings.

Get Your Copy of Keep It Shut!

Learn More

You might also like