WORDS MATTER

Let the words of my mouth,
and the meditation of my heart,
be acceptable in thy sight,
O Lord, my strength and my
redeemer.
Psalm 19:14

Not sure in the beginning, where the above words came from as I was new to our church youth group, but caught on quickly that it was a verse from Scripture. At the end of every youth group meeting, before the evening church service, our group stood in a circle, holding hands with heads bowed, and we repeated the above verse in unison.

The verse is a very probing one, almost too probing for a group of kids, but with time and some maturity, even to this day,for me, it's very convicting. Most often, we make excuses for our times of “hoof-in-mouth” disease where we just blurt out anything we feel like saying. These times are often too frequent for any of us to keep track of.

David wrote Psalm 19 which is a precious Psalm to say the least. Here David mentioned two areas of interest....words and thoughts. We have come to know that words and thoughts are very close relatives, each affecting the other. Our words should always lift up, edify another person. We live in a time hearing words of threat, accusation, terror and lies. In these areas, God calls us to be different.

As Christians, we are called to speak just the opposite. In our speaking and meditation, our main goal should always be that we please and glorify our Lord. With Him as our strength and redeemer, we are empowered to do the right thing. Even for we believers, there are times we lose sight of the importance of what we speak or think. We have had feelings hurt by others and we have, as well, said hurtful things to others. Neither is “acceptable.”

One of our calls is to be like Jesus as much humanly as we can. In reading in the Gospels of some of the incidents that faced Him of scorners, doubters difficult situations, He replied to adversaries with a calmness that was a wonder. In every case, He answered those doubters in such a way that left them stunned in silence. This is such an example for us as we deal with difficult people in our lives.

We must realize that what is in the mind will come out, uncensored through the mouth. That's why in Philippians 4:8, Paul listed some things we need to think upon instead of what we read or see in books, newspapers, newscasts and any mind-infecting things. We have more control over our speech and thinking than we can believe because we have the advantage of having the Holy Spirit leading and prompting us. In any circumstances, we would do well to think before we speak...speaking in ways that are helpful and that bring glory to the Lord.

Father, set a guard over my mouth. May I speak with kindness, choosing my words in such a way that will please you. May I filter my speaking through the spirit of Your word. In Jesus' name...Amen.