Flapping Lips
Of late I have had great difficulty in controlling my tongue. This is a very large problem for me. I cannot seem to keep my big mouth shut. Instead of bringing glory to God I bring disgrace on him. When I say "of late" that might be a bit misleading, what I mean is that I almost never, for my entire life, have been able to bridle my tongue! For example, I tend to curse government every day, calling them murderers and thieves and destroyers. The point is not the truth or falsity of the statements, the point is that it is not my place to say these things. Instead I ought at all times to pray for these people! In the same way I find myself speaking negative things (evil?) of my coworkers, saying things about them that are, at best, only partly true.
Last night I prayed to God for help in this matter, I asked to him to help me control my tongue. In fact I asked him to take it over and only allow me to speak as he would have me to speak.
This morning in
Portals of Prayer, the LCMS daily devotional magazine, the two scriptures were Ephesians 4:25-32 & Psalm 4!
Ephesians 4:25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Psalm 4:4 Be angry, and do not sin;
ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah
So then, God, in his infinite wisdom and power, has spoken to me through his word. Or at least that is how I see it this early morning. Let me this day oh Lord, put into practice these words of yours, especially these; "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."
Amen.
Of course none of that does anything more than tell me to do what I've already determined I cannot, on my own, do at all! So I simply must trust God to help me keep my big flapping lips pressed firmly together this day.