PROVERBS 10:19 – When there are many words, sin is unavoidable, but the one who controls his lips is wise.”

THEME OF THE DAY: TALK A LOT, SIN A LOT.   The Old Testament book of Proverbs is wonderful, insightful, and sometimes very uncomfortable.  Why? King Solomon pulls no punches.  Here is an example – How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man (Proverbs 6:9-11). If we are prone to procrastination or laziness, how would we like to be called a “Sluggard” and told “Get out of bed. Sleep is not a hobby, form of entertainment, or temporary escape from life”?  We probably would get quite defensive and respond, “Who are you to call me that or correct me with such words?”  Well, don’t do that because it isn’t King Solomon saying those things. It is God in His Word, and yes, it is very uncomfortable if the shoe fits.

Today’s scripture is also one of those King Solomon darts that pierce us, if we are a person prone to talk a lot, must always give an opinion in a conversation, are quick to interrupt someone because we must talk, or have a reputation of hijacking and dominating conversations.  He is basically telling us, “Talk a lot, sin a lot.”  And when it comes to a loose tongue, we need help and that by two applications.

First, we need to heed the warning about our words, a warning given by the Lord Jesus – I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak (Matthew 12:36). Remember the old saying and poster in WW II?  It went like this “Loose lips sink ships”.  The purpose was to remind sailors not to talk about sensitive things like ship’s schedules and missions. It may lead to serious consequences for the fleet. For us? Loose lips or uncontrolled speech will damage our testimony for Christ and will not fare well at the judgment seat of Christ.  So, listen to Jesus. He loves us enough to tell us in advance about our words on the Day of Judgment.

The second application is prayer; prayer to plead for God to help our speech, both quality and quantity, to be controlled by His Spirit.  James would tell us why. We cannot control it ourselves – And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison (James 3:6-8). Rely on the Spirit of God, always, to control our speech, and we won’t need to worry about today’s scripture identifying us.

So, be on guard. We don’t always have to talk.  Remember God gave us two ears and one tongue. Maybe we are to listen more, talk less.

PRAYER: “Father, please help me put a restraint on my tongue to prevent me from excess talking.”

QUOTE: “If we have a lot to say but don’t have a lot of control of our tongues, we will sin a lot.”

In the affection of Christ Jesus,

Pastor Jim