We all struggle with the tongue. Maybe you don’t use the really bad words, maybe you don’t even say any words that are unsavory, but you do struggle with your tongue. Words that are used to complain, gossip, slander, express anger, self-pity or annoyance are all ways in which we misuse the tongue that God gave us.
Consider the purpose of your tongue, or the God-given ability to use words. The purpose of your words are to glorify God through truth telling that serves others well. You can’t glorify God if you are using your words to complain, cuss, or cut people down.
Not only that, using our tongue on the one hand to bless and on the other to curse exposes our hypocrisy. We talk about loving our neighbor and showing kindness to all who are around us, and then turn around and spew poison and hurt to our family. We can talk about how God is in control of all things, but when our day does not go according to our plan we use our words to show that we really believe our plans are better than God’s plans.
If we look beyond the words we use we will see that it’s not the words themselves that are the main problem, but our hearts. Luke 6:45 tells us that out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. Your words unveil what is going on in your heart. John Calvin said that, “the tongue exists to reveal our hearts.” How we speak shows if we are self-centered or Christ-centered. It shows what we hold dear, what we fear, and what controls us. Our tongues tell others what we worship and what our values are, what we hate and what we love. What do your words and your tone of voice reveal about you?
“There is no better test of the health of the soul, than to see what is on the tongue!” -C.H. Spurgeon
Our tongues have condemned us, but Christ saves us. Only Jesus can save us from the corruption of our hearts, the evidence of which overflows out of our mouths. Only Jesus can change our hearts. Through that change comes the ability to learn wisdom and exercise self-control so that our words glorify God and edify others.
“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” – Proverbs 4:23
0 Responses
Loved today’s post! Thank you!
This post was great! Thx.
Amen and Thank you for this message.