Every year, sparks from hot tempers or careless words start fires which consume millions of lives in beautiful relationships. Once begun, these fires move unrelentingly through self-esteem and trust – nothing is safe from the fury of the tongue.
“Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body.”-James 3:5-6
Our tongue has incredible power to build up and encourage, as well as tear down and destroy. And though our sins are eternally forgiven when we place our trust in Jesus, the day will come when our careless words are revealed and we see the full extent of the damage we’ve done; “men will have to give account on the day of judgement for every careless word they have spoken”-Matthew 12:36.
If our heart is filled with the ways of the world, our mouth will naturally speak the world’s wisdom which is “foolishness in God’s sight”-1 Corinthians 3:19. Rather, we must fill our heart with the ways of God and allow our mouth to overflow with His love; “I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You”-Psalms 119:11.
Have we been the cause of some raging fires or smouldering embers? If so, we must pray for healing and believe that “with God all things are possible”-Matthew 19:26. We must fill our heart with the power of His Word and “not let any unwholesome talk come out of our mouths”-Ephesians 4:29. Let’s stop the destructive fires. Let’s begin today to fill our heart with His Word and prevent the sparks.