I will carefully consider the words I choose to speak.
Verses
Matthew 12:37
The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.
Matthew 15:18
But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you.
Father God, our words matter so much to you, and yet how carelessly we use them. Please forgive us for not paying attention to the implications of what we say. Prompt us to take notice of our words and seriously consider where they come from.
God, we know our words are the root of the problem, but what is going on in our hearts and minds that causes us to speak as we do. It’s the words we speak, from the heart, that defile us.
Oh, Lord, please make our hearts pure.
Please cause us to carefully guard what goes in, so that what comes out of our mouths gives you all honor and glory.
In the Strong Name of Jesus, Amen.
My father always said, “Loose lips sink ships.” While I didn’t know where that saying came from, the message got across. We need to be careful about the words coming out of our mouths because we can all too easily say things we regret. Can you relate?
Our words matter much.
Yes, much, much, much more than we care to acknowledge.
As a culture, we’ve become even careless and crass, disregarding the setting and circumstances in which we tout our opinions.
Could it be that we’ve totally lost our filter thanks to reality TV and talk show banter?
How many hours have we spent listening to the running commentary of a prospective house buyer critiquing a space? How about the many opinions we ingest about a particular chef’s cooking? Or about a singer’s singing? A politician’s politics?
The kind of non-consequential running of the mouth we witness on TV reaps a grave reward if it manifests in our personal relationships.
I believe that we’ve bought the lie that we’re entitled to sharing our opinions with as much criticism, sarcasm, and enthusiasm as we like, without regard for whether our words are of any benefit. Our words do matter much to the one they are being spoken to. Our commentary and critiques leave identity-stinging wounds.
The truth is sticks and stones will break our bones AND words WILL harm us. Don’t you agree? Even though the wounds from words are hard to see, they can linger for a lifetime. Those hidden word-wounds left untreated become wounding words. Yes, the wounded wound.
Is that why it’s so important to take stock of our words and what is going on in our hearts? Our words will either acquit us or condemn us before the Lord. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be condemned.
Yes, getting our hearts right before the Lord is a daily discipline. It’s not only about reconciling what was, but it’s about ‘fessing up what is. Every old wound and every little offense needs to be handed over to the Lord so that our hearts can be purified by God’s extravagant love and amazing grace. Only then, my friend, will we be able to speak the kind of words that will acquit us.
How have you been loose with your lips in a way that has caused harm? Is it a matter of carelessness? Is it time to consider the overflow of what is in your heart?
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