I Say Stupid Stuff
/“For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.”
- James 3:2
“Warren, you are the best at telling stories. You have a gift for speaking and writing.”
A recent comment received. Boy, did that go to my head! But the reality is I have a tendency to say stupid stuff. Sometimes on purpose, sometimes not. Most of the time simply because I cross the line.
I learned a long time ago people are extremely careful what they say when giving a public speech. Boring. I also learned, if you want people to listen to you multiple times, they have to have a sense of anticipation. They listen because they have no idea what could come out of your mouth at any given time. That places good speakers on the verge of crossing over into saying stupid stuff, and I’ve crossed that line more than once.
I work hard at saying what I say the way I say it to excite, challenge, confront, comfort, inspire, and motivate the audience to think in a new way. I spend hours (and sometimes days) thinking of how to share a single point to simply make people think. Sometimes I get it right. Sometimes I don’t.
This happens in our friends groups as well. We all know each other’s stories. There is some pressure to “up the ante” and say something noteworthy…which often leads to just being stupid.
Words matter! They can inspire, equip, motivate, captivate, move, change and encourage people. They can also destroy, denigrate, diminish, marginalize, hurt, scar and push people away.
We are warned in James 3:2, “For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.” So, we need to make sure we say things right! Right? Well, we are also told in James 3:8, “But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” Conclusion: we say stupid stuff.
The real key is our heart. What do we truly believe and hold to be true? Jesus said in Matthew 15:18, “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.”
BUT, “I didn’t mean what I said!”
How is that possible? Your mind had to think it to say it and your mind is driven by what you believe. I understand we might not have meant to hurt people as we did or cause a problem like we did. The reality remains we said it because we thought it. We thought it because to some degree we believed it.
I’m not about to write a devotion about how you need to be perfect in what you speak. The end of that would be…open mouth and insert foot. No person can control their tongue as they should. Yet, can we acknowledge the truth. We were not meant to speak alone. The Lord desires to speak through our lives. We only say stupid stuff when we speak on our own.
I use these verses often, for good reason, but here you go again. In John 14:10 Jesus said, “Do you not believe that I am in my Farther, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.” And again He says in John 14:20, “At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.”
In other words, if Christ depended on God the Father to speak through Him, and we are to imitate Christ; then we need to depend on and have faith that Christ will speak through us!
It is not about controlling what we say. It is a heart issue. What do we wholly hold to be true? What comes from the heart, exits the mouth. James tells us we cannot control the tongue. But we can give our hearts over to Christ. And what we truly hold to be true in our hearts will come forth from our mouth.
My challenge this week is to evaluate the stupid things I say, and NOT figure out how to say them better. But rather, to evaluate the heart issues that led to those statements. Then, go to the Lord with those issues and allow Him to work on them in my life.
Never be afraid to speak. What we should fear is a heart which is not dependent on Christ.
© 2026 Warren Martin. All rights Reserved.
