“If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.”
From personal experience, a lot is revealed to me daily from meditating on God’s word. I always receive something new to ponder on and to me, this means the word of God is alive.
Today’s bible text brings the message in Isaiah 64:6 to light. “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”
This without doubt points out that none of us is worthy of claiming righteousness and it’s only by God’s grace and mercy we are not consumed daily.
Not only do we act contrary to his commandments, we also do not pay close attention to the meaning of His word and the message it aims to pass across.
We are in a generation where we practice freedom of speech. We go all out to express our opinion on different matters irrespective of the sensitivity. We do this without having a second thought on the impact of our words.
We let loose our tongue without thinking that:
• Our words could dishonour God
• Our words could destroy what we have
• Our words could destroy people’s lives.
• Our words could lead to our success or downfall in life
• Our words could make us regret a lot of things
Another way we use our words is through gossip. Gossiping has become a norm in life and doesn’t feel like a big deal anymore. Everyone wants to hear or have a say in an “interesting story”. It is not wrong to discuss occurrences or life happenings but once the motive behind it and actions backing it are not genuine, it becomes wrong to indulge.
If you have an issue controlling your tongue then you have a problem that needs quick attention. Your inability to control that which proceeds out of your mouth raises the need for quick attention to the content of your heart. Remember the bible explains that your mouth speaks out of the abundance of your heart.
Here is something I discovered while researching how the state of our hearts connects with our tongue:
▪Insecure heart = Boasting tongue
▪Fearful heart = Negative tongue
▪Impure heart = Filthy tongue
▪Unsettled heart = Overeactive tongue
▪Bitter heart = Complaining & critical tongue
▪Jealous heart = Negative & Critical tongue
James 3: 8 says “but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.”
So dear brothers and sisters, I encourage you to ask God for help daily in controlling that which proceeds out of your mouth. Be quick to listen and slow to speak. Process your words thinking of the impact it would have and let your words be seasoned with grace always.
I urge you brothers and sisters to think a lot before your speak. This may sound difficult but it is doable with the grace of God and conscious effort.
This prayer we are about to say is crucial. It is important for everyone but most importantly those who are serious about their relationship with God. Your entire religion could be worthless just by not having control over what proceeds from your mouth.
Join me in saying this prayer:
Dear Lord, please set a guard over my mouth and keep watch over the door of my lips in Jesus Name I pray. Amen Psalm 141:3.
