Profanity will raise your stock in the eyes of people that don’t matter but will lower your stock in the eyes of people that do.
James 3:9-11
Today’s Tiny Words. Big Life. post might step on some #)$(%* toes…
If you had a conversation with God, would you tell him that you don’t understand the Bible because it’s too %^$# hard to understand?
How about asking for help with a situation at work. Would you ask God for assistance because your boss is a *@#%! ?
I thought not.
Then why do we insist on using language that’s fit for a gutter?
The only answer is that it’s either a habit or you’re trying to impress somebody.
Neither one of those is a good idea.
Today’s Tiny Words. Big Life. Bible verse is from the book of James, aka the Proverbs of the New Testament, where we find some teaching on the subject of what comes out of your mouth.
James asks the rhetorical question, “Does fresh water and salt water come out of the same spring?”
Basically, he’s saying that your heart and mind produce what you speak. If you speak vile and derogatory language, guess what? Your heart and mind is right there in the gutter with the words that flow from them.
And that’s no place for the mouth of anyone, much less a Christian.
The Tiny Words. Big Life. takeaway is this: Pray to be convicted for anything negative that comes out of your mouth – whether cursing, rudeness, or hate-filled speech. Pray and ask for forgiveness and strength to remove it from your thinking. Pray for God to lift the need to impress people with sin. Pray to see the glory of God as more important that the admiration of evil people and filthy conversations.
And finally, the next time you feel the urge to show someone how well you can use your mouth as a garbage can, reach down inside it and pull out that week-old potato peeling and have yourself a bite. Compared to what’s about to come out of your mouth, it’s like chocolate candy and Listerine all mixed into one.
James 3:9-11
9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?
I’m doomed.