Watch Your Mouth
As we've seen in Proverbs 4, we must turn our ear to the word, and guard our heart from those things that pull us away from God. And in verse 24 of Proverbs 4 Solomon says, “Keep your mouth free of perversity, keep corrupt talk far from your lips.”
Guarding Your Tongue: The Power of Words in Faith
A friend of mine the other day when he read Jesus’ words in Matthew 5 about not calling anybody an idiot, said, “I think I might just sew my mouth up! Sew it shut!” We all had a bit of a laugh. But maybe you feel this way. Maybe you feel that your mouth is out of control. Maybe your mouth is full of ungodly things. There are other things that you've converted quite easily - your hands don't do the evil things that you once used to, your ear easily listens to only the things of God and so on. But maybe your mouth keeps on saying the wrong things. Perverse things. Things that aren't of God, corrupt things.
Solomon says, Keep that stuff far from your lips. Keep your mouth free of such things. Jesus even emphasized the importance of the words we speak. Matthew 15:11 He says, “What goes into someone's mouth doesn't defile them.” It's not about clean, unclean foods. “But” he says, “what comes out of their mouth defiles them.” Jesus knew that our words can defile us.
And James, the brother of Jesus, said “out of the same mouth comes praising and cursing. Mmy brothers and sisters, that should not be.” Our mouths should be mouths that praise but don't curse; praise but don't speak evil and speak nasty and speak perverse things.
Living Christlike: Choosing Words of Glory, Compassion, and Love
Here’s a good way of thinking about it: If Jesus wouldn't have said it, don't say it. If Jesus wouldn't have used that word or told that story, don't do it either. I mean, isn't that the point of being a Christian? To learn, by the help of the Holy Spirit, to live like Jesus?
And so Solomon's words here are wise, and they will help us. Friends, keep your mouth free of perversity and keep corrupt talk from your lips. Let us, as Christians, always choose our words carefully, and I pray that whenever people hear us talk, it'll be words of Christlike glory, compassion and love coming from us.
Every time.
