What Are You Using Your Mouth For?
" A fool's mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul."( Proverbs 18:7, NKJV)
How true! This passage of scripture sums up the fate of a lot of people today.
What
are you using your mouth for? This is a serious question i had to ask
myself, and answer some years ago. And i keep using this same question
to examine myself every time, especially when i find myself in
unpleasant situations.
I will like to refer us to two other verses of
the same chapter of this book of proverbs ( a book which can be
regarded as biblical common sense guide for living), to see the
implication of what you use your mouth for: " A man's stomach shall be
satisfied from the fruit of his mouth; from the produce of his lips he shall be filled. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit." ( Proverbs 18:20-21, NKJV)
See
the way a modern translation presents these: " You will have to live
with the consequences of everything you say. What you say can preserve
life or destroy it; so you must accept the consequences of you word." (
Proverbs 18:20-21, Today's English Version)
A lot of people tend
to be careless with the use of their mouths. They say words without
really thinking about the consequences of these words. Some people
always have an excuse for saying the wrong words, while others don't
seem to see anything wrong with their use of words.
Do you know that
the mouth is not meant for eating and drinking alone? And talking? Well,
your mouth is not for just talking as well but talking right! Please
know ans understand that that your mouth was given to you to chart the
course of your life. So, whatever you are going through today, your
mouth played a vital in it- words you said or didn't say.
I am,
at the moment, living in a city where i have discovered that the people
tend to be careless with their mouths. They speak without thinking;
cursing, foolish jesting, rude remarks, negative words- all these i have
to contend with every day as i move around, either in the buses or
other places where you find people.
Now, imagine when things go wrong
in their lives, they start looking for someone or something to put the
blame on. It never occurred to them that their lives are products of the
words that came out of their mouth. They run from church to church, and
other places, seeking solutions for problems that could have been
avoided in the first place if they had learned about the proper use of
their mouths.
I learned, many years ago, not to use my mouth
destructively by speaking the wrong words about, or to myself. Though i
didn't understand then that there are two sides to it; you may not be
speaking the wrong words but you must speak the right words continuously
to fill your life with the right stuff. And that's what i have been
training myself to do. Thanks to all those ministers of the word, and
motivational speakers, who have been proclaiming this truth about the
place of the mouth in striving for success in life.
One of the
things that stood Jesus Christ out during His earthly ministry was His
use of His mouth. It is as a result of some of His words that the
religious leaders of that time where not comfortable with Him, even the
case they brought against Him at his trial were the words of His mouth.
Jesus
Christ revealed a truth that it is by your words that you are either
justified or condemned ( Matthew 12:37). Think about it. In this life
you are either liberated or imprisoned ( as regards the issues of life)
through your mouth.
What are you using your mouth for? Learn to
guard your mouth for " whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he
who opens wide his lips comes to ruin"( Proverbs 13:3, English Standard
Version ).
Don't allow any one, or even your environment, make you
use your mouth without considering the consequences. If you are going
through bad times, your mouth is a vital tool to bring you out quickly
and release you into the good times you desire. I want you to know that
in life your winning begins with your speaking. Talk yourself from where
you are right now to where you ought to be ( or want to be ). Remember
that great men are made by words, so it's not enough for you not to
speak the wrong words but you must discipline your mouth to speak the
right words always- words with creative powers. Don't program your life
for destruction with your mouth.
Folks, i would like to admonish
you to make a commitment to exercise more control of the use of your
mouth by speaking the right words to establish yourself on the right
path, today and for all time. Why? Because : " if anyone can control his
tongue, it proves that he has control over himself in every other
way."( James 3:2, The Living Bible )
Take care
