I am confident that if people listened twice as much as they talk, this world would be eighty percent better. We put too much value into what people have to say. The problem is that there is so much chatter that you have to say something outrageous to get noticed. Jesus said what comes out of the mouth, defiles a person and reveals what is in their heart.
Mark 7:20-23
And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts… All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
Digging Ourselves a Hole
I think we all will agree that our mouth has gotten us into more trouble than anything else we have done combined. Sometimes it seems like we aren’t even in control of our tongue. Words are coming out, and we are asking ourselves, “Who is this person?” That’s because the mouth reveals our real heart. Most of the time, we can keep it under wraps but add in a little anxiety and anger, and soon it is a tsunami that is destroying everything in its path. We don’t need to control our tongue; we need to root out the sin.
Remove it at the Roots
When we let pain and prejudice take seed in the soil of our heart, it produces a crop of bitterness and judgment. That begins to direct our thoughts and actions, and pretty soon, it has bubbled its way to the top and is coming out in our words. Since we don’t want to offend anyone, we learn to cloak those feelings in ways that seem honorable but aren’t. The problem is that if we don’t deal with those sins, they kill us from the inside and wreak havoc on those around us.
Out of the Mouth
The path to recovery starts with recognizing our problem and then repenting of our sin. People don’t see freedom in their lives because they won’t admit they’ve done anything wrong. Admitting we are wrong opens the door to recovery. When you walk in freedom from that, you can move on in life and see God start to open doors that were closed before. Watch what comes out of your mouth. God may be telling showing you something