Eggshells and Wise Words

Have you ever gotten eggshell in your mouth when eating something? If you have, you’ll never forget what it feels like.

Maybe you’re minding your own business, enjoying an egg salad sandwich or a nice pice of cake or brownie, and all of a sudden you bite down and there’s this gritty, crunchy, chalky, wrong feeling in your mouth. It makes you immediately stop chewing, and spit out whatever was in your mouth. Probably my even mentioning it brings a shiver down your spine. 



Eggshells in food are most likely the result of working too quickly, not being careful, or overlooking the fact that they’ve fallen in. They can be sneaky little buggers and hide themselves under the egg. Sometimes the shell just shatters when you crack it, and little shards go all through your bowl, making it impossible to get them all out. Other times just a small chunk falls off and is immediately camouflaged by the flour and sugar already in the bowl, or by the egg white in a hot skillet that is beginning to cook and turn opaque. 


Even experienced bakers and cooks can have this issue. At the bakery I used to work at we avoided this by cracking eggs one by one into a separate bowl, then dumping them into the main mixing bowl one at a time to make sure we didn’t get shells in anything. That was a good practice, even if it did take longer than just cracking the eggs on the side of the mixing bowl and dropping them in. It also meant an extra dish to wash, but it was worth it to avoid the unpleasantness for our customers.

Have you ever thought that some of your words are like eggshells? 



Do you sometimes find yourself speaking things you never intended to say? Or perhaps you sneak unpleasant words into the middle of an otherwise pleasant conversation to make a point, or take a jab at someone or something. Or maybe you have used your words to purposely wound another person, or wound their reputation behind their back. 



All of those things for sure leave a gritty, crunchy, chalky, wrong feeling in the ears and heart of the hearer. And they should leave those same feelings in your own mouth when you say them. The Bible gives us plenty of things to consider when it comes to our words. 



Proverbs 18:7-8 “A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul. (8) The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.”

Words can wound not only the person receiving them, but also the one who speaks them. When we have a habit of using our words as weapons, we aren’t always aware of the consequences and harm we cause to ourselves. Proverbs tells us that a fool’s mouth destroys him, and snares his soul. Not good.

Sneaking ugly words into a chat (whether in-person or virtual), or forming an entire conversation around unpleasant, rude words or gossip is usually the result of speaking too quickly (and not engaging your brain), not being careful, or overlooking the hurt they can cause.

We are warned several times in the Scriptures to not be hasty with our mouths.
Proverbs 29:20 “Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him.”



Ecclesiastes 5:2 “Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.”



I ought to think before I speak. I should “crack” my thoughts into a separate bowl in my mind and examine them for “eggshells” before dumping them out into conversation, or into the ears of others. If I take the time to examine my thoughts before they come out of my mouth, I might realize I don’t actually need to say anything at all.

Proverbs 17:27-28 

(27) He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit.
(28) Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.



It’s worth the extra time it takes to consider whether or not my thoughts are good, so I don’t say something hurtful, prideful, or damaging to another person in the heat of the moment. Doing this avoids the unpleasantness and hurt it can cause them. Even fools are counted wise when they keep their traps shut. As Mark Twain said “It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.” 



Even experienced and ‘veteran’ Christians can fall prey to this. No one is exempt. We all have to be vigilant. I need to examine my thoughts and see if the meditation of my heart is pleasing to God. If not, then my words definitely will not be.



Psalm 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.”



Has that been a prayer of your heart? Have you asked the Lord to help you have acceptable thoughts so that your words can be good? I need to let the Lord teach me how to handle my words, truly learn from him, so I can be wise in heart, and not be known as a fool who tosses eggshells hither and yon into conversations. 



Proverbs 16:23-24
(23) The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips.
(24) Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.



I need to fill my heart with wisdom so that it will teach my mouth how to speak. If my heart is full of bad thoughts, negative reactions, and ugliness, guess what will come out of my mouth?

Luke 6:45 “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.”

Lord, let me not drop eggshells into conversations that leave others with a bad taste in their mouth. Help me fill my heart with Your goodness so that my heart meditation and words will be sweet to the souls of others.

And that’s even better than eggshell-less brownies.