Posted by Yesterday at church, part of the message was about controlling your tongue, or controlling what you say. This includes both your internal dialogue, and those things that we express verbally. Those of you who know me well know that I can run my mouth. Not only am I really good at complaining (as are we all), but I’m excellent at talking smack. Both of these are not honoring to God, they aren’t good for us or the people around us.
One thing that struck me in church yesterday was how much the heart and the tongue are connected. I know the verse that says “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks”, but I had never really taken the time to meditate on this subject. This morning I was reading my Bible, and I found another verse that really illustrates this point. In Acts 5:26 Peter is quoting a phrase written by David in the psalms. The verse says:
“…therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope…”
When his heart was glad, the words that came out of his mouth reflected it. Why was he glad? God! Verse 28 (quoting from the same Psalm) goes on to say:
“You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.”
We should be glad because God has saved us, He came down to earth as a man for us. He’s given us forgiveness of our sins, and a way to have a relationship with Him. He’s not a far off malevolent God, but a personal close God who will never leave or forsake us. He’s given us the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us. When you meditate on facts like that, you can’t help but be glad! When you’re focused on God and His goodness, your heart will be glad, and your tongue will rejoice, just like David and Peter.
Since the tongue reflects the condition of the heart, my question to you is: Based on what you say, what does your heart look like?
Work in Progress 