You Say Bedazzle; I Say Embezzle

By Jodi Whisenhunt –

James said it best, “But no human being can tame the tongue” (James 3:8). That silly little muscle can stir up more trouble—or in my case, embarrassment—than walking down a high school corridor in front of the entire football team with toilet paper stuck to your shoe. Yes, I speak from experience.

Not long ago, my sister came to visit. We got together at my brother’s house, ate some delish barbecue, swam and caught up on each other’s happenings. My sister said she was looking for some good glue to repair jewel embellishments on her shoe. I knew of a great one and launched into the whole tale of how my friend discovered it when she needed to embezzle her kids’ dance costumes. You saw that right. I said my friend embezzled dance costumes.

My brain didn’t catch the slip, so I kept right on talking, but my sister cocked her head, looked at me strangely and giggled. I was confused. I didn’t think I was telling a funny story.

“What?” I asked.

“How do you embezzle costumes?” she asked. And I felt like a dunce. It wasn’t the sun that reddened my cheeks.

“Well,” I said, “You do need sticky fingers to nab jewels!”

Oh, the tongue! “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech” (1 Peter 3:10). I don’t think my mixed up words conveyed evil, but they were a bit deceitful and certainly conjured up an interesting visual. I guess that’s why James advised us to be quick to listen and slow to speak (James 1:19). Always be careful not to bedazzle your speech!

On a side note, it has nothing to do with language, but to this day I still check my shoes before exiting the ladies room.