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The wisdom from this proverb feels strong, right? Guard your mouth and guard your tongue—that’s good advice for any of us! But it’s a lot easier said than done. In conflict especially, it’s easy to shoot back an angry word. It’s easy to fight dirty with our comebacks and comments. Here, this proverb reminds us that doing so causes calamity. That’s just another way of saying catastrophe, or tragedy, or mishaps. Simply put, our words have a way of causing chaos. That’s why we must learn to choose our words wisely—especially in conflict! If we can hold our tongues when we’re tempted to speak in anger or guard our mouths when we’re ready to pay back hurt with more hurtful words, we’ll find ourselves kept out of chaos and away from worse conflict. The result? Better relationships, better ways of showing up to showdowns, and better peace for our own lives. Who wouldn’t want that?

This week, make an effort to choose your words wisely. Maybe set a reminder on your phone with this verse to help you, or ask a friend to hold you accountable, or simply pray that God would help you keep a record of your words. The more you choose to guard your words, the more you’ll find yourself kept from chaos and conflict.