“The Gospel” According to Kenny Rogers?

My middle child—God love him, inherited the ‘opinionated gene’ from his momma.  The difference is, he processes EVERYTHING out loud.  So you can imagine he spends a lot of time backtracking and explaining, after the fact, especially if he’s mouthing off to me or his dad!

We may not all process our thoughts out loud, but some of us know all about offering hurtful words and unsolicited opinions, and having to have the last word.  In the midst of one of my son’s episodes at the dinner table, I interrupted with a side eye and a quote from “the gospel” of Kenny Rogers.

You’ve got to know when to hold ’em
Know when to fold ’em
Know when to walk away
Know when to run

Okaaay, so there’s nothing scriptural about it; just a quick-tongued momma and her sarcasm, right?  Or maybe the Lord, in His own parabolic style of sharing truth, can pull a nugget from there?  Let’s consider these lyrics a moment.

We do need to know when to hold our peace.  We don’t always need to offer our two cents, especially when unsolicited.  Knowing when to fold ‘em?  Now that’s a true art.  How many times have you been in an “intense fellowship” that just went on too long, but you had such a good point, you couldn’t let it go until you convinced the other person to believe likewise?

Did anyone else run out of fingers and toes while counting, or is it just me?
Let’s not forget the granddaddy of them all, THE hardest thing to recognize.   There’s a time to walk away from a conversation, run even, when your words cease to communicate and only provoke.  Lord help me my son!  Who am I kidding?

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.  Hebrews 4:16

Here’s the good news for all of us: the issues we have, with our tongue or any area, are opportunities to run full force to the throne of grace.  The place where we go because we’re a hot mess.  Really, the place where we ought to camp out, because we are a long-term work in progress.  Thank the Lord, when we come to Him, He isn’t shaking His head, wagging a judgmental finger.  Instead, Jesus corrects with words of grace—grace we don’t give one another, knowing His goodness changes our minds, our hearts and eventually, our mouths.

A prayer based on Colossians 4:6:
DADDY God, let our speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that we may know how we ought to answer each one.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Encourages women to move past the limits of their relationships with their fathers to find identity, acceptance, and unconditional love in the ultimate DADDY-daughter relationship with God.