Watch Your Mouth
Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips. (Psalm 141:3) The tongue has tremendous power; so much so, that we are more likely to transgress with our speech than our actions. . . . let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. (James 1:19) Rash speech in a saint is a sign of spiritual immaturity, and the Lord calls us to a place of deeper understanding about our words. He is looking for those He can trust to speak with wisdom and grace, and He is looking for that wisdom and grace in you! But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. (James 3:8) Therefore, it is a futile exercise for a saint to try to control his or her speech. Our speech is not simply a matter of words, or it would be easy to alter the things we say. No, our speech is a matter of the heart, and it clearly reveals our heart's condition. "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." (...