Words

I did it yesterday, I accepted information from an unreliable source without further confirmation and acted impulsively on it. And the information was false. I live with a husband who dots his i's and crosses his t's and you would think after almost 35 years it would wear off on me, but I still have a tendency to take the fast boat and not think things out, or wait them out, and sure enough I get in trouble. And when I do that it does not just effect me but I leave a trail of others who are effected as well.

It is easy for some of us to accept what someone says and run with it. Sometimes we accept it because we want the information to be true. There are times we accept it because the drama of relationship plays in, and sometimes we accept it just because we don't take time or make time to think it through and are too lazy to validate the information. But at all times in communication and the banner of words, it is probably better "consider the source" and step back out of emotion and weed through the conversation and determine what is fact or truth and what is hollow jargon. There is a bunch of that that comes our way each day...often referred to as gossip. Even if we are not the speakers, we are are active participants if we are the listeners.

It is true that what we speak of is what we have lingering in our hearts. And I don;t know about you, but that is not always such good stuff. God calls us to guard our hearts and minds against the mindless chatter of the world and seek the words of truth that God has laid before. What would happen if I truly let God lead my conversations....and my responses. I am sure there would be a great deal more silence because so much that I say is so unimportant and has very little merit. But He would encourage words that would build up and encourage and soothe, and comfort.

I searched around the bible to find verses that were applicable to this topic and boy was I convicted on every front. If only I could not only remember some of them but embrace them and incorporate them into my everyday, heart generating conversation. Guess it goes back to what I have allowed to be the treasured thoughts of my heart. And further determine what my motivating factor is regarding conversation and responses. Is it caring more about my take and my judgment or my intentions or God's.

Well, you read them for yourselves, and I bet you to might find a bit of conviction in the words of God himself. YIKES!

Psalm 141:3
Set a guard over my mouth, LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips
Proverbs 4:24
Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
Proverbs 6:2
you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth.
Proverbs 21:23
Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity.
Proverbs 27:2
Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth; an outsider, and not your own lips
Ecclesiastes 5:2
Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.
Jeremiah 9:8
Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaks deceitfully. With their mouths they all speak cordially to their neighbors, but in their hearts they set traps for them.
Matthew 15:18
But the things that come out of a person's mouth come from the heart, and these defile them.
Luke 6:45
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.
Ephesians 4:29
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
James 3
Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one's life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

And just a note here....the written word or text ....is merely an extension of the spoken word, and has the potential to do even greater harm to a relationship because it is in writing. This is a devotional for me on all fronts, for man have I made some blundering mistakes. May God forgive them one and all, and may those that I have offended forgive me as well. This is a new day, and God surely is teaching me His new way. May he give me the vision and the motivation to seek him first and to place in my heart a yearning to speak of things of excellence.

In considering the source, may it be God's word and truth that I seek, in my own heart as well as in the hearts of others.

Dear Lord, Please help me to set a guard over my mouth, and help me to carefully select words of truth and goodness and
encouragement instead of fighting words of malice and distrust. You have a huge job before you in this prayer and I am asking with sincerity that you alter my ways and humble me when I have wronged someone by speaking careless words. Amen
Praise God wherever you are and whatever situation He has allowed you to be in . . . His glory will shine through!