NEVER SAY SUCH A THING! (PART 2)
TEXT:
"For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." (Matthew chapter 12 verse 37, King James Version).
In every civilized system of jurisprudence, when a person is arrested by Police on suspicion of having committed a crime, before giving his statement in writing, a word of caution is usually administered to the suspect by the investigating Police officer. The word of caution usually would inform the suspect to be careful about what he was about to put down as his statement because it could be used in the Court of law as evidence.
The illustration given above underscores the importance of words and the need for caution as to what we say because as the Lord Jesus has rightly admonished us in our Scripture reading for today,
"For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."
Don't be careless with your words! Learn to refuse to speak forth anything that is contrary to what you believe God for. Search the Scriptures. Find out what you desire that God does for you and begin to discipline yourself to talk along that path. For instance, do you know that the Bible says of them that dwell in Zion that they "shall not say I am sick"? (Isaiah 33 verse 24). In other words, we don't confess to sickness!
As a child of God, have it as a governing principle of life never to give in to moments when you just feel like speaking forth your negative thoughts and emotions. Rather, acknowledge that trying moments of life call for restraint and exercise of faith because we are in a spiritual battle in which what you say, apart from being used to "justify" or "condemn" you, can also become what you get in the end. The truth that so many have not come to terms with is that every man's life is directed by the words of his mouth.
To many people, this is strange. But as Christians, we don't talk carelessly, we talk discreetly. We talk what God says about us, irrespective of what we see or what we feel. Truth is, God's report about your situation is the plain reality, not what you see, hear or feel. The Bible categorizes what we see, feel or hear as temporal; and not real. (2nd Corinthians chapter 4 verse 18).
The admonition to watch what we say is one that we should take very seriously in life. For example, do you know that you may be praying for one thing and then you are unwittingly speaking against it? By doing so, you counter yourself with your own words. Like James says, such a man cannot receive anything from the Lord because he's double minded and unstable in his ways (James chapter 1 verses 5 to 8, see also James chapter 3 verses 11 to 12).
Be careful therefore with what comes out of your mouth. Ask the Holy Spirit to set a watch over your mouth in order to speak life always (Psalms chapter 141 stanza 3). This is so because whether you realize it or not, you will eat the fruit of your lips. The Bible says that "A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled." (Proverbs chapter 18 verse 20).
PRAYER:
Dear Holy Spirit, help me to always speak words that are true and wholesome, in Jesus name.