Guard your tongue!

Dear Corey,

“Don’t be rash with your mouth and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven and you on earth; therefore let your words be few.” ~Ecclesiastes 5:2

The verse above shows us that we have to guard our tongue and mouth. Paul likens the tongue to a small flame that can kindle a mighty fire. Instead of having to give excuses we should watch what we say first.

“Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger of God that it was in error.” ~Ecclesiastes 5:6

We cannot trust excuses to save what we have said. We must watch our tongues (I know this from experience). This week, I am going to watch what I say.

Your BIC,

Nick

Ways of Destructive Speech

"What is desired in a man is kindness, and a poor man is better than a liar." ~Proverbs 19:22

Nick,
We often hear the phrase, "If you have nothing good to say, don't speak at all." We've talked about this before, but I want to look at it in a different way. As Christians, we are commanded to do more than "not speak". We are to love our enemies. We should be more anxious to say good things than bad; encouraging words rather than destructive utterances. When we are called names behind our backs, ridiculed and mocked, we should not return their speech with equally bad language of our own. Instead we should seek to show kindness to them. We should not lie and say things we don't believe. We should either speak words that build up, or not speak at all.

Perhaps the hardest place to put this into effect is in our own homes. Because that is true, however, it makes our homes the best, as well as the most worthwhile, place to practice. But destructive language comes in many forms. The first is the simple, "He did ___", with "___" being something destructive. The second is in the form, "I could do it better." The third is, "Well he's good at that, but I'm good at ____" The last two are different from the first in one way: they put the speaker a level above the other person. But this type of comment will only make the other person resentful. Let it be known that you never speak an offensive word, but rather challenge and "sharpen" others with your words. As the verse says, "What is desired in a man is kindness." If you can not only show forgiveness, but also show kindness to your enemies, how great will be your reward! If we are to show this loving-kindness to strangers, even enemies, how much easier it should be for us to show that same love to our friends and more importantly our family! The Lord continues to test me in this area, yet oh! how miserably I fail! How many times have I spoken before I have thought! May you not have the same struggle! Go forth with love on your lips and good will in your heart!

Your Brother In Christ
Corey

The word and the Word

Dear Corey,

“Don’t be rash with your mouth and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven and you on earth; therefore let your words be few.” ~Ecc. 5:2

In the verse above, it shows us that we have to guard our tongue and mouth. Paul likens our tongue to a small flame that can kindle a mighty fire. Instead of having to give excuses we should watch what we say first.

“Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger of God that it was in error.” ~Ecc. 5:6

We cannot trust excuses to save what we have said. We must watch our tongue (I know this from experience). This week I am going to watch what I say.

Your BIC,

Nick

Dear Corey,

“That I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth, that you may answer words of truth.” ~Prov. 22:21

God’s word helps us in three areas that I will list below. The first is that the Bible equips us for evangelism. It helps us get ready to further God’s kingdom. Second, It helps us use the spiritual gifts that God has given us. Paul says that knowing God’s Word makes us ready to use our gifts. Third, it equips us with the knowledge to fight Satan. God’s word is a sharp two-edged sword that allows us to defeat the wickedness of Satan.

“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.” ~Eph. 1:17

Your BIC,

Nick

Words are Important!

"In the Multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise. The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, the heart of the wicked is with little. The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of wisdom. The blessing of the Lord makes me rich, and He adds no sorrow with it." ~ Prov. 10:19-22

Yesterday I was talking with my mom about a pamphlet Mr. Kayser wrote. It is called Leader Development. It is basically a checklist for young men (though it can also be used for men, not just young ones) to evaluate what they need to work on in order to become godly leaders. The very first section is titled "Communication". After I went through the list, I found just what I expected; I don't talk enough. My favorite question was, "I don't always speak my mind but instead seek to be short on words." I got a perfect score on that one.

There are some benefits to little speaking, but also many weak points. As the passage above says, "In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise." But as my mom pointed out, we communicate, fellowship, relate to, encourage, evangelize, teach, lead, and understand people because of words. So there is a fine line between speaking the right amount and speaking too little. But we should not go to the other extreme of talking too much. Looking at the first line at the top, we see that Proverbs says that "in a multitude of words sin is not lacking" So we draw another line between speaking the right amount and speaking too much.

"Wisdom is found on the lips of him who has understanding" ~ Prov. 10:13

The passage up top says that the words of the righteous are like "choice silver." Our words should be like honey to those who hear us. Even if we speak correctively, we should be able to have it be loving correction. There is an old saying which I am sure you have heard:

"If you have nothing nice to say, don't say it."

But I think it should go like this,

"If what you have to say will harm someone needlessly, don't let your mouth speak. But if what you have to say will build up and not in the least destroy, don't hesitate to say it."

May you bring every thought and word captive. God bless you in all you do!

Your Brother in Christ,
Corey