PROVERBS
EIGHTEEN
Proverbs
God has given us many
“authorities” as Christians. I believe one
of the more powerful ones is our tongues.
It is the root of our power in
“Out of our
spirit, the mouth speaks”. So if our spirit is full
of death so shall our mouths be full of death.
If it is your first inclination to assume the worst or to say something
negative you must ask yourself. Does
this bring life to anything? Does it
edify or build up someone or the situation?
Or, does it perpetuate hatred, anger, oppression, spoils. If it does your spirit needs an
overhaul! Not everyone can all the time
always walk in love and only have positive things come out of our mouths, but
we can be cognizant of what does come out of our mouth and take
control and authority over it in
Someone cuts you off in
traffic, we are human and it angers us.
Do we curse that driver and give in to our anger or do we ask God to
send angels to protect that driver and anyone he comes into contact with… And
Thank HIM for His protection and grace?
As you begin to pay
attention to what comes out of your mouth, you will start to recognize what
comes out of the mouths of others. If
you ask God to open your heart and mind to hear and realize what your words
create, you will become more sensitive to what you say and what those around
you say. We are bombarded in this society
on a minute by minute basis of negative thoughts, designs, words, deeds,
lyrics, you name it, and we’re hit with it constantly. This is how the enemy desensitizes
us to it. How do we combat that? With prayer, and renewing our mind with the Word of God. It our spirit is “prayed-up” and our spirit
is full of the word of God then there will be no room for words that kill.
What a powerful and
responsible commission He has given to us. WE have the power to kill or
bring life with the mere words we speak.
Joking: I am especially guilty of this one; I would sell
my own mother to get someone to laugh. But… while it edifies
me, does it bring glory and honor to God? Is there really such a thing as victimless
humor? Humor is the enemy’s way of desensitizing us
to the fact the he is stealing our joy. We attempt to replace that loss with
senseless humor that most of time points out a fault or a defect in or with
someone. We “poke-fun” and yet it tears
that person down. Does that bring life or
death? It is our choice, isn’t it?
Anger: Being prone to anger is telling of someone’s
spiritual well being and speaks to the control one has over their emotions. Are we angered easily? Do we “take offense” at the slight of others,
no matter if it’s intentional or not? Do we allow ourselves to give in to our
carnal nature, or do we see that it is not a war against our brothers but of
the power of the enemy. Power, I might
add that we freely give to him. I remember
at a men’s retreat one year, the leader had all of us stand in a large circle
facing the back of the man in front of us and he had us start walking slowly in
a circle together. He explained that
this is what “society” symbolizes. We
trudge through our days with
Guess what happened?
The circle not only was interrupted, it was dismantled altogether. Why?
Because that man faced the enemy, stood his ground the “plans” of the
enemy were demolished. A few of the men even
wound up on the floor. That analogy
illustrated for me that every step we give to the enemy by going with the flow…
that is power over our life that we are freely giving to him.
Change starts with a
decision and that should be to produce life with words that come out of our
mouths. Do we merely go with the flow,
or do you have the courage to speak up and stand on His word. Being kind is not the sin that society paints
it to be people. The fruits of the
Spirit are what we should strive for on a daily basis. Are you speaking
patience, love, edification, support, encouragement? Are your words bringing
peace, well being, and kindness? Or, are they bringing pain, hurt, suffering,
and humiliation? It’s very easy to judge for yourself. The next time you say something…. measure it
with the questions; Does this glorify God? Does it bring honor to His name? Does it help to build His kingdom? If it does not…now is the time to do something
about that, don’t you think?
Marcus
