Job 27:3-4 - Watchyousay Willis ?

". . . as long as I have life within me, the breath of God in my nostrils, my lips will not speak wickedness, and my tongue will utter no deceit."

I am amazed, confounded even, by how much the Bible has to say about our speech: the use of the tongue, mouth, and lips.  Nearly every book in the Bible has verses concerning what flows from our hearts, but I was bowled over by Psalms and Proverbs.  Between the two books, there is a minimum of 118 verses directed at the use of our tongues.  Does that tell us where a whole lot of our sin is centered?  Now, in all fairness, not all of the Scripture is on the negative side.  I didn't separate the good, the bad, and the ugly, and there are numerous Scriptures in these 118 that deal with praise and exaltation, such as this one from Job.

What we say probably affects almost everyone we come in contact with more then any other action we would do.  Think about that.  We hold the power of life and death, literally, and everything in between, in our mouths.  Fact:  teenagers have committed suicide after being bully-mouthed.  Fact:  a person that is praised and encouraged can achieve their wildest dreams.  With our mouths we create and with our mouths we destroy.  It's our choice which we concentrate on.

65 verses in Proverbs are divided into 4 categories of speech patterns.  The Controlled Tongue thinks before speaking, knows that silence is golden, and gives wise advice only when asked.  The Caring Tongue speaks the truth in love, all the while seeking to encourage and build up.  The Conniving Tongue is truly bitter and killing.  It consists of wrong motives, gossip, slander, and twists the truth to suit itself.  And lastly, the Careless Tongue lies, curses and utters quick-tempered words, all of which lead to rebellion and destruction.  Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.  What goes in must come out. 

Who we allow to direct our lives determines what the world hears from our hearts.

Look back over the last 24 hours.  Who have you spoken to and what did you say?  Which category did you fall in?  Was God glorified by your speech? 

"Loving Lord, my mouth, my tongue, my lips, are my enemy.  I want only to glorify Your Name, yet that does not always happen.  I am ashamed before you, Majesty; I hang my head.  Have mercy on me, Lord, and create in me a new heart.  Change me from the inside out, so that only pure, living water will flow over my lips.  My desire is to refresh others with the joy of the Spirit within me.  Help me, Jesus, to be more like you.  Amen."

FOR FURTHER STUDY:

Job 33:3
Psalm 45:2
           139:4 
            141:3

Psalm 34:13
            35:28
            37:30
            39:1

Some of the Proverbs according to category:

Controlled Tongue:  10:19;  11:12-13;  12:16;  13:3;  15:1, 4, 28

Caring Tongue:  10:32;  12:18, 25;  15:23;  16:24;  25:15;  27:9

Conniving Tongue:  6:12-14;  8:13;  16:28;  18:8;  25:18;  26:20-28

Careless Tongue:  10:18, 32;  11:9;  12:16, 18;  15:4;  17:9, 14, 19;  20:19;  25:23