“He who guards his mouth and his tongue, guards his soul from troubles.” (Proverbs 21:23) I recently watched a short video that a friend of mine shared on Facebook. That’s right, sometimes good comes from unexpected places. In this clip, a man’s voice was talking about the kind of heart that sends out the words that come from our mouths. His message was clear and so remarkable that I wanted to share it with you and add a little something of my own.
“He who guards his mouth and his tongue, guards his soul from troubles.” (Proverbs 21:23) I recently watched a short video that a friend of mine shared on Facebook. That’s right, sometimes good comes from unexpected places. In this clip, a man’s voice was talking about the kind of heart that sends out the words that come from our mouths. His message was clear and so remarkable that I wanted to share it with you and add a little something of my own.
He said that harsh words come from an angry heart, negative words from a fearful heart, overreactive words from an unsettled heart, boasting from an insecure heart, filthy talk from an impure heart, and critical words from a bitter heart. But he countered with the idea that encouraging words come from a graceful heart, one who speaks gently has a loving heart, and one whose words are truthful has an honest heart. It sure made me pause to think!
How often do we find ourselves in situations where we should probably not say anything but the urge to go ahead and speak just overwhelms us? In so many of those times we find ourselves wishing we hadn’t spoken like we did but, like toothpaste out of the tube, we cannot snatch those things back out of the air. Do we just act like nothing happened? That’s not likely to go very far at smoothing things over or settling an otherwise volatile situation.
I think the man left out a critical element, though: the humble heart. One who seeks forgiveness from the person or persons they’ve wronged, whether the wrong was real or imagined, has this kind of heart, and it was just this kind of heart that God saw in King David. David was far from perfect, just as are we, but he would go to his knees in repentance and ask forgiveness for his transgressions. It was this sincerity that pleased our mighty Father. Humility is not weakness by any stretch of the imagination. Be the first to apologize in a situation and you’ll know exactly the kind of power and strength it takes!
Words can hurt but they can also heal. However, it isn’t the words that’s at the heart of the matter - it’s the heart from which those words come. Become the healer. Have the graceful, loving, honest, and, above all, forgiving heart that Christ has for you.
