What in the world does that mean? Stop for a second and ponder, what does it mean to "misspeak"? I'm afraid that we have adopted this word into our vocabulary family to have a way of admitting some modicum of wrong-doing without having to say, "I lied," or "I was mad," or "I'm sorry."

I live in the central Missouri area. Recently a local councilwoman who is running for a seat in the state senate said that she "misspoke". That caught my attention.

Apparently, her husband was driving on New Year's Eve when he was stopped by the police. He was charged with driving while intoxicated, felony possession of a firearm while intoxicated, and failure to have proof of insurance. Whoops! That's not good.

A news-reporter from Columbia called to ask the councilwoman about this situation. The reporter specifically asked her if she was with her husband at the time of the citations. The councilwoman said she was not.

But, she lied. Excuse me, she "misspoke". The reporters found out that the police report said she was present. When they confronted her about it, she said she "misspoke". She said she was caught off guard by the reporter's phone call, that she just got off a plane (I'm still scratching my head as to how this is pertinent), and that she just "misspoke".

Come on, really?

What about Matthew 12:34 "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks."

So consider this my plea. My plea to our congressmen and women. A plea to our coworkers. A plea to our bosses. A plea to our spouses. A plea to ourselves.

If you get caught with your hand in the cookie jar, or better yet, if you're just being a Christian and you are stepping up to own up to your sin, don't say stupid things like, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that." "I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by that." "I'm sorry you took it that way." "I'm sorry if I offended you."

STOP! STOP STOP STOP! Believe the Bible. You did not misspeak. It was not an accident. You did mean just what they heard you say.

Your evil words came from the evil in your heart. Repent! Ask for forgiveness. Say that you sinned and that you are in need of grace.

"I'm sorry. I sinned against you. Please forgive me."