Psalm139:4 - "Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord."
When a word is on my tongue, it's about to come of my mouth. That's not always a good thing. How many of us have uttered something and immediately felt like we wanted to take it back? I know I sure have. I am a talker and with that comes higher risk of vocalising naughtiness. And yet, God knows it completely before I have voiced it. Kind of a sobering thought on the one hand and a comforting one on the other.
Sobering because He knows every utterance - even when thought to be said in secret. And yet comforting because He knows me in my sin and yet loves me completely and sees me fully righteous because of Jesus. What an amazing gift we walk in every single day! Having said that, I don't want to take His gift lightly. I want to bless my God with my words and I also want to bless those around me. My gauge is this: if I wouldn't say it to someone's face then I shouldn't be saying it behind their back. I know it grieves God when we gossip and malign others, even if we think they deserve it. At the end of the day, we all deserve maligning because none of us is perfect.
Let's think a little more carefully before we speak. Before a word is on my tongue, what kind of a word is it? If it's not honoring to God and to others, then maybe I need to swallow it...
When a word is on my tongue, it's about to come of my mouth. That's not always a good thing. How many of us have uttered something and immediately felt like we wanted to take it back? I know I sure have. I am a talker and with that comes higher risk of vocalising naughtiness. And yet, God knows it completely before I have voiced it. Kind of a sobering thought on the one hand and a comforting one on the other.
Sobering because He knows every utterance - even when thought to be said in secret. And yet comforting because He knows me in my sin and yet loves me completely and sees me fully righteous because of Jesus. What an amazing gift we walk in every single day! Having said that, I don't want to take His gift lightly. I want to bless my God with my words and I also want to bless those around me. My gauge is this: if I wouldn't say it to someone's face then I shouldn't be saying it behind their back. I know it grieves God when we gossip and malign others, even if we think they deserve it. At the end of the day, we all deserve maligning because none of us is perfect.
Let's think a little more carefully before we speak. Before a word is on my tongue, what kind of a word is it? If it's not honoring to God and to others, then maybe I need to swallow it...