If you were raised by an "old school" parent, then today's topic carries some substance with you! I was raised by a mother who was raised in the old school by my Grandma and my Granddaddy. I remember her telling me a story about when she talked back to my Grandma after she was told to do something. Because she back talked to Grandma Margaret, my Mama told me that Grandma Margaret slapped her so hard that she saw stars! If truth were told, each of us have experienced something along those lines. It may not have been a slap, but it may have been a whoopin', it may have been you eventually getting grounded, and other things. After Mama was slapped, Grandma Margaret told her to "watch your mouth". If we flip this thing spiritually, God is telling us the same thing to watch our mouths! Today's main scripture provides evidence to this thought.
Our scripture for this topic can be found in the book of Proverbs. Proverbs is the third of the five Poetry books in the Old Testament. It is also the first of three books written by the wisest king of all-time, Solomon. During his forty years as king of Israel, God allowed Solomon to learn a lot of things, thus allowing him to pin important clichés, "pearls of wisdom", proverbs, and sayings to help you and me grow as men and women of God. Today's main topic provides clarity on why we should watch our mouths.
Solomon starts off with the warning "Watch your tongue and keep your mouth shut". Did you know that the tongue is the strongest muscle in the human body? It's stronger than your biceps! It's stronger than your triceps! It's stronger than your deltoids or any other muscle for that matter! Regardless, Solomon warns us that we ought to watch our tongue! He told us three chapters ago in Proverbs 18:23 that "Death and life is in the power of the tongue". It's crucial, my brother and my sister, to watch your tongue because it's going to either speak life into a situation or it's going to speak death into a situation! Solomon continues and tells us to "keep your mouth shut". One cliché I always heard was that "If you could not say anything good about anyone, do not say anything at all". Brothers and sisters, within God's Kingdom, it's imperative to build your brother up, instead of tearing them down! It's important to encourage and edify your sister, instead of always pointing out the negatives in their life! If you do not have anything positive to say, then God through King Solomon is telling you and me to keep our mouths shut!
If we watch our tongues and keep our mouths shut, then Solomon has a promise for you. He completes today's text by saying to us that "and you will stay out of trouble". I spoke to a friend of mine about three weeks ago and he told me how his wife keeps egging people on and once people began to snap at her, he would tell her that she kept pushing their buttons and for that, deserved being yelled at. If we cut the grass down short enough, there have been seasons where each of our mouths have placed us in trouble. Ladies and gentlemen, it's important to gage when it's time to talk and when it's not time to talk. Some of our greatest family and relationship hurts occur because people do not know how to shut their mouths! Some of our potential demotions and firings at our jobs have came because of us running our mouths unnecessarily! One thing about it, if you are God's child and you have been doing things right, then you do not have to run your mouth because God tells you in Psalms 46:10 to "Be still and know that I am God"!
In closing, Mama taught me a life lesson in watching my mouth towards adults. Solomon has taught us the lesson on how to watch our mouths spiritually as well as naturally. He tells us to watch our tongues and keep our mouths closed and we will stay out of trouble! Allow God to show you when to say things and when NOT to say things! It'll save so many people's feelings and in turn, subtract trouble from your life!
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