Profanity is a proclamation that you’re not guarding what goes in your mind by evidence of what’s coming out of your mouth.
Psalm 26:1-3
I can’t comprehend why – but some people don’t like tomatoes.
If you’re one of them, today’s Tiny Words. Big Life. post might require you to do some “word swapping”.
So, when I use the word “tomato”, you can think of “eggplant”. That’s because I figure that if you’re crazy enough to not like tomatoes, you’re bound to like eggplant – even though they do sorta resemble each other on the inside.
By the way, the concept of “what’s on the inside” will be mentioned again in the post…
But for now, enough of the food pickiness… but let’s keep going with the food concept.
Let’s say you have a vegetable garden and you want to grow tomatoes (eggplant). So you pick out a good spot and dig a hole. Then, you gently place your young, tender plant down inside and cover it with fertile soil.
At that point, are you done? Is that it? Do you have to do anything else?
Unfortunately, yes. You have to care for it. You might even say that you need to nurture it.
One of the most important things you can do is to water it regularly. Beyond that, you should feed it something like Miracle Grow which provides mineral nutrients which will help make the best tomatoes (eggplants) this side of Grandma’s house.
So far so good. Your crop is planted and your mouth is watering.
But then, you make a big mistake. When it comes time to water it – you pick up the bottle of Round-Up instead of the Miracle Grow and pour it into your special watering can that’s labeled “Special Blend – For Tomatoes Only”…
Then, after liberally dousing your future BLT with the contents from the can, you go inside, content that you’ve done everything in your power to grow a fine batch of tomatoes (eggplants).
The next day you wake up, all full of hope and excitement as you venture out to check on your crop.
You can hardly believe your eyes. Much to your dismay, the little green leaves that once held so much promise, have wilted and turned a sour shade of yellow.
Why?
Because what you gave them was harmful. Although you didn’t intend to do so, you killed them.
You immediately think of the watering can. You hurriedly go over and grab the can and read the label – “Special Blend – For Tomatoes Only”…
Confused, you open the top and take a big sniff of what’s inside.
Your fears are then confirmed. You realize what you’ve done because it doesn’t matter what’s printed on the outside label, it’s what’s on the inside that does the damage.
If you think about it, our Christian life can be compared to a vegetable garden.
The main difference is that the crops are our family and friends. Not only that, our garden includes people that we don’t even know – people that we come in contact with on a daily basis.
Now think of watering your garden.
What kind of water are you using?
Speaking profanity into the ears of others is like using Round-Up on a crop of tomatoes. You could be killing them spiritually and you don’t even know it.
Today’s Tiny Words. Big Life. Bible verse is from Psalms in which King David is having a conversation with God about his own life and how he has always held God above everything. Although it might sound like he’s saying that he’s never committed a sin, that’s not what he’s saying. We know about King David… his sins are well documented.
Today, as Christians, we live under a different covenant with God. When we’re saved by the blood of Jesus, our sins are washed away.
But does that mean it’s OK to go on sinning?
Absolutely not.
Does that mean that we should tolerate and embrace sin?
Again, absolultely not.
To a Christian, sin is something that we should struggle with. It should never come easy and should never go unrepented. After all, it’s God’s grace by which we are forgiven and His mercy allows us to seek it.
The Tiny Words. Big Life. takeaway is this: Pray for your heart, mind, and spirit to be cleansed of foul language. Pray to see others as a crop of tomatoes (or eggplants if you prefer). Pray to understand that ears hear and hearts are influenced by the things we say and do.
To close this post, I’m offering an open invitation to come by and look at my own garden. It ain’t perfect and never will be. But the rows are clean and the dirt is well taken care of. And when a few weeds do popup from time to time, rest assured they’ll be dealt with by the power of the hoe (prayer) and some forceful blows (the power of Almighty God).
And one more thing… when you come, make sure to bring plenty of bread, mayo, salt, and pepper – ’cause I don’t even think about picking a tomato until I’m ready to do it right!
Psalm 26:1-3
1 Vindicate me, Lord,
for I have led a blameless life;
I have trusted in the Lord
and have not faltered.
2 Test me, Lord, and try me,
examine my heart and my mind;
3 for I have always been mindful of your unfailing love
and have lived in reliance on your faithfulness.