"Fuel For The Tongue"

"Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;" 2 Corinthians 10:5

 

It has often been said that our tongue is our biggest problem and if we can learn to control it we would be a lot better off. True, the tongue is an unruly member and what it says has the potential to get us into a lot of trouble, but our tongue is not the root of the problem. Our problem lies within our thoughts. The tongue is only an instrument that repeats what it "hears"-- hears from our thoughts/mind.

 

Bitterness doesn't start in the tongue, it starts in the thoughts. Anger doesn't start in the tongue, it starts in our thoughts. Every word, whether it edifies or tears down, starts in our thoughts. Our thoughts get into our heart and out of the abundance of our hearts the mouth speaks. If the thoughts aren't in our mind then they will never come out of our mouth. Our tongue has no mind of its own. 

 

So how do we keep our "tongues" from getting us in trouble? When I have weeds in my garden, I don't just clip them down I pull up the roots that feed those weeds. I have to do the same thing where my tongue is concerned so that those "weeds" of critical, hurtful, selfish and mean words aren't being "fed". Although there is discipline involved in choosing what to say and what to refrain from saying, we don't just keep our mouths shut, we work on the source-- the mind/thoughts. So the key is to "capture the thoughts and renew the mind". 

 

Capturing our thoughts and renewing our mind is a one step process. They are both done through God's word. As I capture them with His word, I am also renewing my mind with His word at the same time. His word takes care of both at once. But it is not a one time thing. Our thoughts have to be captured and our minds renewed daily and every time an untrue, dishonest, unjust, impure and unlovely thought crosses our minds. 

 

The Bible says that no man can "tame the tongue and it is full of deadly poison", but God came tame it. He can tame it though His word as we capture the thoughts and renew our mind. That is the only "antidote" for its deadly poison getting us into trouble.

 

Have a great day. Our tongue is not our biggest problem, what fuels it is. 

 

For further reading:

James 3:2-12

Matthew 12:34

Philippians 4:8

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Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell

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