Hey! Watch Your Mouth!

James 3:5-6 5 In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.

But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. 6 And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.

Boy is my mouth a whole lot of trouble to me lately. Seems like the more tired I get the more my tongue just wags about nonsense. I don't watch what I say and to be honest I don't think first, mainly because when my brain is switched off my mouth thinks it can have a free-for-all.

*Sigh* What am I to do?

With our mouths we can bless one minute and curse the next. We gossip and say things about other people.
I have had things said about me behind my back and I cringe when others do the same about other people because I know how horrible it made me feel. People can form opinions about another person based on gossip. This is dreadful and yet in the last few weeks I have caught myself doing these things. I know right? I just want to crawl under the bed and hide. I have even said things to people! Now you must wonder what kind of person I am? How can I do these things? Hey I can't even believe it myself but it is true, sad to say.

But you know what I am grateful that I have made my heart open to God so that He can point these things out to me, I can repent and turn from my wicked ways and in doing that I get rid of a noxious weed. The fact that I am aware of what I have been doing is good. If I become aware of a weed in my life that needs pulling out and I do nothing about it I stand a very good chance of being choked by that weed later on.

So what can we do about this situation? Well in your quiet time with God ask Him to reveal the weeds in your heart. When they are out in the open and exposed, repent and pluck them out and burn that weed. Do not just leave it in there to die because it will just leave its seeds and then you are left with a lot of new little problems which will take twice as long to uproot. Make sure that when you hear gossip or talk from others to not join in but rather throw some 'water' over it and snuff it out. Do this when you open your own mouth too. Don't let flames of destruction exit your mouth.

Be careful what you hear and who you are listening to. Usually it is very easy to start speaking ill of someone or to be speaking about what so and so did when others are already doing it.

Ask the Holy Spirit to help you keep your words good and pure.

Luke 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Whatever your heart is full of will spill out of your mouth.
I was watching Tak Bhana on ShineTV the other day and he had an illustration. He took two glasses of water half full. The one represented the ourselves and the other was the Holy Spirit. In order to be filled with the Holy Spirit we needn't empty the sin out of us we just needed to be filled with the Holy Spirit who would take care of the sin in our lives.
When our hearts are full of evil all that is going to come out of our mouths is evil. But when our hearts are full of the Holy Spirit and we have opened up our hearts to restoration, what comes out of our mouths is good and pleasing to God.

So yes my mouth has had some horrible things come out of it but I have decided that the Holy Spirit has full permission to take hold of my heart and restore it and clean house. It is painful and embarassing but we do not have shame nor do we allow shame to take a seat. It is all about being human and God's grace is sufficient for us. New are His mercies every morning.

So let us store an abundance of good treasures in our hearts so that when we speak we will bring only words that build others up and speak life.