The Power of Words

"Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips.  Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice deeds of wickedness with men who do iniquity; And do not let me eat of their delicacies." --Psalm 141:3-4

Did you ever say something that you later regretted as soon as it was spoken?  Maybe it was a frustration over something a spouse or a co-worker did that came out in the middle of a heated dispute.  Maybe it was something immature your son or daughter did that highly disappointed you.  Maybe it was just agitation over the foolish meneuver the car in front of you on the interstate pulled without minding the drivers around them.  Whatever the case may be, all of us, at one time or another, have spoken words that were unkind and even caused injury.

There's an old saying many of us said as children: "Sticks and stones may hurt my bones, but words will never hurt me."  Experience has shown us that nothing could be further from the truth.  Words have a very powerful ability to build others up or to tear them down, to show them God's love or to turn them off to the Gospel.  It is no coincidence that James tells his readers that the tongue, while a small part of the body, has the same power a rudder has over the direction a ship sails or that a small flame has to burn down an entire forest!  So when the Psalmist in the passage above asks God to set a guard over his mouth and keep watch over the door of his lips, he was recognizing the power of the tongue and its need to be tamed by the Master.

How has your speech been today?  Have you used your mouth for good, to build others up and draw them closer to God?  Or has your tongue been used for evil, to tear others down and to turn them away from Him?  Try examining your heart today, and ask the Holy Spirit to show you what is there.  Our Lord did say, after all, that "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks."  Make the words of the Psalmist your own prayer today; Ask the Lord to keep guard over your mouth and keep watch over your lips.  He will gladly answer this prayer.