As a first-grade teacher, I had my share of children who, regardless of countless reminders, spoke without permission in class discussions. Their little mouths simply would not respond to any restraints I imposed. Their minds said, Speak no matter whose turn it is.
I finally realized that I needed to get the attention of their minds, not their mouths. Did they really mean harm by blurting out so recklessly? Did they really want my disapproval? Of course not.
So one day I chose the top several offenders and very good-naturedly said, "I am taping a card to your desk every day, and any time you speak out of turn I will come and make a mark on your card. At the end of the day, we will count the marks and place them on a chart made just for you. Each day, we will try to have fewer marks than the day before."
They were astonished at first at the number of times they spoke out. I smiled kindly as I walked nonchalantly to their desk and marked their card with a minimum of distraction. Humiliation was what I wanted to avoid the most. The other kids, as kids always do, rallied to their cause and tried to help them avoid the marks.
As adults, we speak out of turn toward ourselves. We are too this and too that, not enough of this and we certainly need to quit this and do more of that. The "thises" and "thats" that we let define us are one big collection of speaking out of turn, and we need the same intervention that worked for those kids.
Imagine a card--better yet, get a stack of cards--on which you tally every time you speak out of turn toward yourself with undue criticism and harshness. That is not the way Jesus or a loving parent or a trusted friend would treat you. Start a fresh card each day with the goal of diminishing the tally marks.
Speaking out of turn toward ourselves feeds our weakness. Be your best friend today and intervene. Hearts don't let hearts speak out of turn.
