Mouth Management

“For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.”   Luke 6:45

Mouth Management.  Hmm...  Interesting term, but what exactly does it mean?  How do we learn to manage our mouths?  The interesting thing is, mouth management doesn’t start with the mouth at all.  It stars with the heart.  The words of Jesus in Luke 6 mean that whatever is in your heart just kind of bubbles up and comes out of your mouth.  This can be good – or bad – depending on what’s in your heart.

Fortunately, God did not leave us alone in the task of guarding our hearts.  He’s made controlling our hearts and tongues a team effort.  So who exactly makes up this team?  You, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.  Only with their help do we have the power to override the temptation for jab gabbing.

It’s amazing that two members of the Godhead (Jesus and the Holy Spirit) actually live inside us.  Talk about dream team!  But does Jesus really live in your heart?  The Bible says He does: “Christ lives in you, and this is assurance that you will share in His glory” (Colossians 1:27 NLT).  But let’s back up a minute.  Before Christ can live in us, the Bible says we must believe in Jesus as the Son of God and receive Him. 

The first and most important step to mouth management is getting Jesus into your heart.  And when Jesus lives in your heart as a ”landlord”, your heart will be well managed, and you’ll stand a lot better chance of using your words wisely – to heal and not to hurt.

The second member of your team is the Holy Spirit.  1 Corinthians 6:19 says, “Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God” (NLT).  One way to tell whether the Holy Spirit is really living in your heart is to check to see if His fruit is in your life.

When you look at the list of the Spirit’s fruit in Galatians 5:22-23, it’s amazing how many of them are tied directly to our speech.  Have you ever noticed that?  Look how some of the fruit of the Spirit can be directly tied to the words we say (or don’t say):

·         Love – telling those who are closest to us that we love them

• Joy – speaking cheerfully to encourage those around us
• Peace – helping to resolve conflicts
• Faithfulness – being a loyal friend, with no backstabbing
• Self-control – again, knowing when to hold back

All of these traits are evidence to the rest of the world that God lives in our hearts.

Now that you’ve met your other team members, you’re ready to move to the next step, which is taking an honest look inside your heart and cleaning it up so that what bubbles out is good. 

Prayer for the Week:  Lord, I so want to honor You on the inside and on the outside….with my words and in my heart. Please help me to keep my heart pure, so that the overflow will glorify You. I depend on Your power to lead me into purity, and I thank You today for Your willingness.  In Jesus' name, Amen.