How To Hold My Tongue: Part 1
OPENING PRAYER:
Good morning/evening Lord, thank you for today. Help me to see and appreciate your new mercies and recognize the greatness of your faithfulness. I ask your Holy Spirit to speak your word into my heart and mind today. In Jesus name, amen.
READ:
James 1:26 (NIV)
“Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.”
Matthew 12:35-37 (NIV)
“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Matthew 15:10-20 (NIV)
“Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”
Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”
He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.”
“Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body?But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”
Luke 6:43-45 (NIV)
“No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”
REFLECT:
Each of the passages in our devotional today deal with what we say in our interactions with others. To “keep a tight rein on (your) tongue”, echoes James earlier instruction in chapter 1 to be “slow to speak” (vs.19) to be sure. However, it also directs us to watch what we say when we do speak. Mark Twain is famous for reshaping a proverb this way, “Better to keep your mouth closed and be considered a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.” What we say can greatly impact our relationships with others, our reputation, and our witness as Christ’s ambassadors to a world in need. Add to that the fact that we will “give an account on the day of judgment for every empty word…spoken”. You see, what we say reflects what is in our hearts – “the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”
APPLY:
If we want to change what we say, we need to change what is in our hearts. In Ezekiel 36:26b, God says “I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you.” (NIV). II Corinthians 5:17 “…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old is gone, the new has come.” (NIV) This change starts with asking Christ to be your Savior and Lord. If you ask God to come in and change your heart, he will. It’s a promise. Then with his presence within you, you can memorize this prayer for each day – “Help me to guard my words whenever I say something” (Psalms 141:3 CEV). He will. It’s a promise he is anxious to keep.
CLOSING PRAYER:
God, help me to guard my words whenever I say something. Amen