Let us pray:
Set a guard, O Lord, before my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight. For You are my Rock, my Strength and my Redeemer. In You do I put my trust.
In Jesus’ name, Amen
In today’s text it says: eat what you want – it only ends up in the sewer, but watch what you say, because it comes straight from your heart – or proceeds through our heart.
So, we could argue that if it comes straight from the heart it is good – isn’t it? The heart is a “good” place – a heart is kind and compassionate – well isn’t it?? When you imagine a heart it is round-ish and red and it symbolizes love, and there’s those warm and fuzzy feelings….right?
The text reads: “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”
This does not sound like the heart is a good place – does it? …for out of the heart comes evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander.
Does this mean that I am a bad, horrible, disgusting and terrible person? – that you are??
No, of course not. It means that we are all capable of being all of those things and that we will have to watch our tongues – or better – think before we talk.
Do you ever feel as if there’s more on your plate than you can handle? Have you yelled at the kids, snapped at your spouse or been nasty to the checkout girl at the supermarket?
I can of course only speak for myself, but I suspect that most of us are guilty of having been less than kind in many situations.
This situation may be familiar to you:
“M-o-o-o-o-o-m?” Have you seen my skates? I can’t find my pants, where did you put them? …and you are in the middle of getting dinner ready at the same time trying to help one of the kids with homework, the cat just expulsed a giant hairball on the blouse you had planned to wear to work tomorrow and your better half brought home some project that has to be finished TONIGHT and is of no help whatsoever and ,and….. the pressure is mounting and you blurt out, “This place is driving me crazy! Nobody can EVER find anything and everybody always expects me to know where it is and WHO in the world was it that wanted that cat!!!!!!!!!!
and maybe there are some other descriptive words thrown in as well…
Does any of this sound familiar? The truth is that we do say some ridiculous things sometimes and the truth is that the place is of course not driving you crazy and you are not the only one expected to know where everything is. That kind of talk is negative and sure the words were spoken in the heat of the moment and may not mean much to you or me, but words carry a lot of weight in the unseen realm of the spirit.
Our words are “Containers of Power”.
Words are very important, and we will be held responsible for them. Proverbs 18:21 says, Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it for death or life. In other words, what we’ve spoken in the past may be the very reason we are where we are today. What we say has the power to impact our own lives and the lives of others in a negative or positive way. That’s why we need to learn to think about what we are going to say before we say it! But of course, since our words come from our hearts and minds, controlling our mouths begins with controlling our minds and praying for our hearts.
What was the first thing you said when you got out of bed this morning? What have you been talking about all morning? Despite what you may think, what you say does matter – to you and the people around you and for everybody’s overall well-being.
I will never forget how I once hurt my sister’s feelings. Nicolas was 5 month old when the three of us went to Denmark the have him baptized in the old village church.
Erik and I went shopping - or something - while my sister and mother were baby-sitting. When we came back my sister had prepared a fresh batch of formula and the only thing I could “see” was the mess she had left in the kitchen. I told her so and will NEVER forget the hurt I saw in her eyes. I wished I could have taken the words back, but they were out of my mouth before I even stopped to think. I can’t even begin to describe how I felt, but I learned a very useful lesson that day.
James 3:5: The tongue, as small as it is, is a very powerful member of the body
Think about when you hear gossip about another person. How does it feel when it is about you? Your feelings are hurt and you cannot understand why anyone would say something about you that is most likely not true or a twisted truth. You are being defiled, but so is the person spreading the lies.
This is true as well in a discussion when someone is trying to get a point across to which he or she does not have all the facts.
The Bible says that no man can tame the tongue by himself.
James 3:8 says,…the human tongue can be tamed by no man. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
The tongue needs to be disciplined or tamed…… but what is impossible with man is possible with God.( Matthew 19:26).
If our lives seem to be out of control, dissatisfying or hopeless, maybe we should take a look at the words we are speaking. Are your words about yourself and your life in general positive or negative? How do you talk about the future? Do you know that you can change the course of your life by the kind of words you use when you speak? Well, doesn’t it make sense that constructive words build up, and destructive words tear down?
I wonder what would happen if we put a tape recorder on our belts and carried it around for a week to record everything we say. I bet that most of us would quickly find out why we have some of the problems we have and why some things never seem to change. Don’t you think we would hear complaints, words of doubt, fear and many other negative comments?
Remember the old saying, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all?” …a good rule of thumb and it’s actually backed up by Scripture.
Ephesians 4:29 says, Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil word nor unwholesome or worthless talk ever come out of your mouth, but only such speech as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace and God’s favor to those who hear it.
This is not something that we get by praying one single prayer or by having someone lay hands on us in a prayer line. No, having our mouths filled with proper and pure speech is a fruit of self-control that God develops in us over time and of course through experience.
It is difficult to control our mouths – especially in the heat of the moment, but it can be done. We just need to learn to yield to God and receive His power and that means that when you or I are in a difficult situation where we really feel like complaining, telling someone off or saying something negative, we need to turn to God in prayer and ask for His help.
It does not hurt either to turn to the “old” count-to-ten-before-you-say-anything rule. …or count to 100, or put your hands on your mouth, so that no words can escape
Pray! “God, HELP!”
You could take it a little further and say. “Help me! I am going to start saying the wrong things. Please give me Your grace to respond as You would. Help me speak what Your Word says instead of how I feel.” This is what it means to submit to God in the midst of temptation. If we’ll do our part and submit, then God will do His part and give us the power to resist the temptation to say the wrong thing.
We must learn to control our minds – lead every wrong thought captive into obedience of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5) so that what comes out of our mouths is life and not death.
Without God we cannot change what we’re saying. With God we can do all things – including exercise self-control over our mouths. When our words are in agreement with God’s words, all things are possible.
Philippians 4:13 says, “ I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me, I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency.”
We must learn to seize our negative thoughts and words, take control of them by the power of the Holy Spirit, and speak God’s Word over our situations instead of what we think or how we feel in our hearts. Controlling the mind and mouth should be our goal. It is a sign of maturity. It is also a way of glorifying God. Anything that offends God in our conversation needs to be eliminated.
But don’t kid yourselves – this is hard work.
An Illustration: Sometimes your biggest weakness can become your biggest strength. Take, for example, the story of a 10-year-old boy who decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.
The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn't understand why, after three months of training the master had taught him only one move. "Sensei," the boy finally said, "Shouldn't I be learning more moves?"
"This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you'll ever need to know," the sensei replied. Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training.
Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first tournament. Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals.
This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened.
"No," the sensei insisted, "Let him continue."
Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion. On the way home, the boy and sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind.
"Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?"
"You won for two reasons," the sensei answered. "First, you've almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. And second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm."
The boy's biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.
(Author Unknown)
The object lesson is easy, isn't it? Satan can hammer your weakness. But what happens to a muscle that keeps getting exercised? IT GETS STRONGER! And so will you in the Lord, if you learn the one move that Satan cannot defend. Stay in the Word. Even Jesus used scripture against the devil. That's how powerful it is! Try it, because it works.
What we say and think makes a difference in our lives. Our words are the keys to abundant life. Unlock the door to your life of abundance by keeping a watch on what you say and think.
Let us pray our starting prayer again:
Set a guard, O Lord, before my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight. For You are my Rock, my Strength and my Redeemer. In You do I put my trust.
In Jesus’ name, Amen
Anne Jorgensen
August 14, 2005