I Didn’t Mean to Say That
Have you ever been at the end of the conversation when you wished you could take back what you just said? Someone told me, it’s like squeezing a tube of toothpaste, then trying to put the paste back in the tube. It’s impossible! And I’m guilty as charged. My mouth gets me in trouble often – go ask my wife. L
“Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.”(Proverbs 21:23)
The book of James is clear that our tongue can either accomplish great things, or leave a trail of destruction. He compares the tongue to a fire; we all have heard some situation with fire and its destruction. Consider for a minute how fire consumes and destroys everything it encounters. For instance, when I was a child, I literally watched my cousin’s house burn down to the ground in a massive fire. It destroyed the whole property, the family was temporary separated, and it affected their lives for years. Until this day, our family remembers all the damage it has encompassed. This is an analogy of the aftermath that occurs if you choose to use your language for unwholesome purposes – it has lasting repercussions.
“But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the Day of Judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”(Matthew 12:36-37) Our speech is accountable to God. We are called to treat and speak to one other in accordance to His standards. As Christians, our communication should be seasoned by grace, respecting each other for this demonstrates the love of God.
In addition, I learned that the mouth isn’t the source of our problem, but rather the heart is the issue. Dr. Luke mentions, “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.”(Luke 6:45) Therefore, I cannot use the excuse I didn’t mean to say that. Whether I like or not, it is a heart issue. Hence, the best ways to combat the issues with the mouth is to deal with heart.
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.”(Proverbs 18:21) – Juan Mendez is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and serves full-time at America’s Keswick
Think About This: “… the greatest test of a man’s character is his tongue.” Oswald Chambers
This Week’s Verse to Memorize: “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT
Freedom Fighters 