Give Him Our Thoughts

May 27

The power of the tongue is undisputable. With it, an individual can comfort the sorrowing, encourage the hopeless, rejoice with the merry, converse with his peers. He may also use it to challenge the sinner to salvation as he declares the gospel to the lost, to those who are “dead in trespasses and sins.” (See Ephesians 2:1, 2.)

A man can also use his tongue to incite a riot or to plant seeds of discord among his brethren. Politicians use their tongues largely to aggrandize themselves in the eyes of their constituents—they use their tongues to make promises they don’t intend to keep and to veil programs that the voters would not approve.

And the Lord God holds us accountable for how we use our tongues. James 3:9, 10 says, “We bless God with our tongue and then use it to curse men who are made in His image. Out of the same mouth proceed blessings and cursing! My brother, this ought not to be!” So, we are not to use our tongue to speak evil of our brothers but what do we do if harsh words of anger are directed against us? Surely we are to defend ourselves against any evil that may be spoken of us.

Sounds rational—but that’s not what the Word says. In Proverbs 15:1 we are told that “A gentle answer turns away wrath.” We are to allow the sweet Spirit of Christ to dominate our actions and our words and even our thoughts! Why? Because as Proverbs 23:7 tells us, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” Our loving Lord knows that if we will give Him our thoughts, not only our tongue but also our words and our actions will reflect Him.