The Power of Words.

…None of us is perfectly qualified. We get it wrong nearly every time we open our mouths. If you could find someone whose speech was perfectly true, you’d have a perfect person, in perfect control of life.
A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it!
It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell. James 3:1-6TM

This time of year people are making all kinds of resolutions. Habits to create, and habits to break. I want to exercise more, I want to stop smoking, I want to eat healthier, I want to make more money, or be better with money… There are so many things people want to do this year.

I have made 2 resolutions which probably encompass almost everything that is wrong with me.Ha ha. Sounds arrogant huh? Well my Resolution is to guard what goes on my tongue, and guard what goes what comes off my tongue. If I could do that, self control would be in my grasp. At least that is what James said.

I have given up sweets, at least for a period of time, and through this process God has been showing me how much I mindlessly put things in my mouth without even thinking. At a Subway I ordered 3 cookies and then had to tell them to put them back because (Duh!) I am not eating sugar. But what He showed me was how many times I have just eaten the cookies because they were there, and not even thought about what I was putting into my body. I actually even picked up something sweet, popped it in my mouth, and then spit it in the trash can. Again, mindlessly. No wonder my weight is an issue in my life. I do not even realize how many times my habits (and taste buds) ruin me. (Cause let’s face it without the tongue and the taste buds we would not be overweight.)

The same is true about what rolls off our tongues. In thinking about whether I want another child or not I am worried about how much weight I will gain, because I gained quite a bit with both of my girls and have not been able to get it off yet. (And my baby is almost 4!) But my sister pointed out, do you realize how many times you say “If I have another baby I will be 300 pounds”? No, I didn’t. Do we realize how many times we discuss the economy and say “Oh it is going to get worse before it gets better”, or ” I can’t lose weight no matter how much I try. I just have a bad metabolism” or “I can not manage my money, no matter what. I am just not disciplined”. I know I have mindlessly said each of those statements without thinking about them until they were pointed out to me.

James says we do not even realize that a word out of our mouth can accomplish anything. ANYTHING! So what are we accomplishing with our words, success, peace, hope, blessing, love, forgiveness? Or failure, chaos, fear, cursing, bitterness?

James is clear to say later, it is your actions not your words, it is your heart that matters. But Jesus says in Luke 6:45 “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.”

My challenge to you is let Holy-Spirit make you aware today, or this week about what comes off your tongue that is ultimately bringing destruction to your efforts. This will ultimately help you a) change your speech and b) realize a thinking pattern or belief you need to change. Because ultimately it is the heart that directs the words, but the words will tell you what the root is, and then you know how to really pray!