Oh no! This one's going to be tough! Oh, how I wish I could live up to this proverb! I'm more apt to open my mouth and insert my foot, and I've more than enough times had to "bite" my tongue to keep from saying the unkind thing I was thinking! There's small comfort in knowing I'm probably not alone in this either...very small comfort.
James chapter three talks to us regarding the control of the tongue...and how the tongue
"is a fire, a world of iniquity...it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell." (from James 3:6) James also says in verse 8 that "no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison." So with that to deal with, no wonder it's so hard for me to open my mouth with wisdom and have on my tongue the law of kindness!
Nevertheless, we must persevere! James tells us in chapter one, verses 5 and 6,
"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind."Furthermore, on in chapter 3, verses 13-18, he gives additional teaching regarding the wisdom that is from above:
"Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. (vs.13)...The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace." (vs.17-18)
By this I see that if I have the "wisdom that is from above", I will have the law of kindness on my tongue. When I seek the wisdom that only God can give, He promises to give it to me. Therefore, when I open my mouth, it will be with wisdom. He will guard my tongue and exercise control over it when I yield it to Him.
Does this mean that I will never ever again say the wrong thing at the wrong time? Well, maybe...if I continually yield my tongue to Him, then He will continually have control over it...but when I don't spend daily time with Him in prayer and devotion, and study of His Word, how can I expect Him to be able to communicate good thoughts to me? How can I expect Him to keep control over that which I refuse to commit to Him? Also, if I don't put good thoughts into my mind...how can I expect good thoughts to come out? ("Input-Output; What goes in must come out"...a little song I heard our Children's Choir sing one day...makes sense to me!)
Okay, Lord, I get it...the way to open my mouth with wisdom and have the law of kindness on my tongue is to keep in closer communication with You, my Creator. You designed me, and You gave me this tongue so that I could communicate with love and kindness. Help me, Lord, to yield this tongue to you so that you can fill it with good words...words of love, kindness, and encouragement...rather than words of bitterness, condemnation, and anger. Thank you, Lord, for being always available and ready to give us wisdom...if we'll just ask. Forgive me, Lord, when I forget or get too busy to ask. I pray that the next time I open my mouth to speak to someone you've brought into my path, you will give me the wisdom to share words of kindness. Amen.
sis we all put our feet in our mouth and then the bad thing is later we regret it. With God's help I am learning to shut my mouth before I speak.
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