TODAY’S VERSE:
Ephesians 4:29 “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
In the last two Kids’ Corners titled, “You Are What You Eat” and “You Are What You Think” , we learned how both our physical and spiritual health are directly affected by what we “eat”. What we consume (listen to, read, watch) each day shapes the way we think. This month, we will discuss how the way we think shapes the way we speak.
Luke 6:45 “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”
There are many commands in the Bible for how we should and should not speak.
Colossians 4:6 “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
Leviticus 19:11-12, 16 “…Do not lie. Do not deceive one another. Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the Lord. Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people.”
Psalm 34:13 “keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies.”
However, the Bible tells us that it is impossible for us to “tame” our tongues.
James 3:8 “but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.”
Good thing for us that though we are not able to “tame” our tongues all on our own, with God’s help we can. It is possible for us to obey all of God’s commands, including the ones regarding the words we speak, because He makes it possible. God loves us and wants us to pray and ask Him for help with anything and everything, trusting that He is faithful and will help us when we do!
Psalm 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”
Psalm 141:3 “Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.”
As we read our Bibles and pray, every day, we fill our minds with God’s thoughts and God’s love, for…
1 John 4:16 “… God is love…”
When our minds are filled with God’s love, then our speech will be as well. When we show His love to others in how we speak to them, we are then obeying the command in today’s verse to build up and help others. What a blessing it is for us to be used in this way! Thank you, God!
Proverbs 15:4 “The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.”
Proverbs 16:24 “Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”