Do you claim to know the Lord yet can not seem to get a grip on what comes out of your mouth? One of the saddest things I think is when someone claims to be a believer yet you hear them taking the Lord's name in vain. That just to me is like fingernails on a chalk board and I feel the person knows better and it is the ultimate slap in the face to our Saviour. I have heard several who claim to follow Christ say 'GD' and it saddens me a great deal.
But there are other trash talking words as well. Lies, gossip,belittling, anger and cursing are pretty awful and really have no place in the vocabulary of a believer. Some say,"who determined what was a cuss word?" That is an excuse to just do what you want to do. Deep inside there is a little voice that should convict each of us in right and wrong. There is even a place in the Bible that talks about 'course jesting'. Do you like to tell off color jokes and do you laugh at them? Ephesians 5:4 is where that is found and it says "Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving." Whoops. I did not make that up. It takes discipline, desire and training to control what pops out of our mouth.
Do you make it a practice to watch movies filled with bad language or nudity and think it is not going to effect you? There is a website you can go to in order to check the content of a movie(www.pluggedinonline.com). "But wait a minute. That is all that's out there." How will people see any difference in you unless you are in fact a little different in your entertainment choices? Our life as a believer should be different. It is not that we have to act 'holier than thou' but there should be a difference. We represent Jesus Christ on this earth and we are only temporary visitors. Does what you say and do and where you go bring glory to God and reflect his character?
Ephesians 4:31 says "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice." Does your speech reflect the goodness of the Lord? Remember back in James Chapter 3 the entire chapter is about controlling the tongue and how hard it is to do it but it is something we need to strive for.
So where are you at today? Do you need your mouth washed out with soap? Think of that word picture. You say something mean, nasty, cruel, hateful, gossipy or derogatory and out comes the bar of soap to 'wash' those bad words away. You can control what you say with God's help if you truly want to clean up your act.
PRAYER: Father it is my desire to not say bad words and to insure that what comes out of my mouth brings glory to you. Forgive me when I have sad hurtful things or said a bad word. Lord God it pleases you when my speech is seasoned with salt. Help me Lord. I want to get control of my tongue. In Jesus name. Amen.
Click on link to worship the Lord in song:
http://youtu.be/kgkTwxeIOa8
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