Before you continue reading: please know that this is simply something that I have noticed of myself, and am working to improve on. These are my own convictions and I just felt compelled to share them.
Circumstances surrounding me lately have really convicted me and begun to change the way I think. It is such a tough thing to face when you receive that slap in the face. When God says to you, “you are a reflection of me. And right now, you are a reflection I cannot be proud of.” That’s hard stuff to swallow. And no matter how many times you have been there, it never gets easier. When the God of the universe, who sent His only child to DIE for me, tells me that He is disappointed in how I handled something, I want to crawl into a hole and never emerge. But He picks me up, wipes me off, tucks my hair behind my ear, places His hands on my face, and says “it’s ok. You are forgiven. It is forgotten. Now move forward, for my grace is sufficient for you.” What would the world look like if we extended that grace to others?
Sin and judgment are hard things to speak on. They make people uncomfortable. And in the world we live in now, uncomfortable is just not acceptable. Rather than preaching on sin, we preach on finding where you are comfortable and plopping our butts there to stay. But that’s certainly not what we are called to. (Aka, I am NOT comfortable in a tent. But God has called me to sleep in one for possibly 11 straight months. Dang.)
First, let me give you my spill on “judging”. This term is something that is so misinterpreted and misused ALL. THE. TIME. People LOVE to quote Matthew 7:1, “judge not, that you be not judged.” We have such a misconception of what judging looks like and when it is and isn’t ok. There is a famous quote that says “hate the sin, love the sinner”. I believe this is what God is saying to us here. We are quick to look at the wrongdoings of others and judge them as a whole. What would that have looked like had Jesus done so before He went to the cross? If He tallied up all of our sin and equated it with how much He loved each of us, I can tell you without a doubt, that He would have never been killed that we may see the Kingdom of Heaven.
I am in NO WAY saying that we are to condone sin. We are to HATE sin, just as Jesus does. But remember that we all have our sin and that to God, it is ALL disgusting. There is no sliding scale on which He decides if our sin is able to be tolerated or not. It all falls into the same category. So next time that verse is quoted, by yourself or another, remember that we are ultimately called to love, because He first loved us. We can hate the sin, and if someone decides to live in that place of sin despite counsel, it is ok to step away from that person/situation. But never stop showing love for them by praying for them and their turn to/back to Christ.
Second, I just wanted to remind (myself mainly) how important it is that when these situations arise or these conversations are inevitable, that we take time to make sure we are allowing Christ to speak through us and not our flesh. Y’all, I am the WORST. I have the biggest, loudest mouth. And I run it. I know this and I HATE it. There are more times than I could ever count that I have opened my mouth and immediately wished that I hadn’t. I am so quick to voice my opinions and so slow to sit back and know the whole story before opening my mouth, or even wiser, keeping it shut. God tries so hard through scripture to whip me into shape. Here are just a very small portion of the things the Bible has to say about our tongues:
“In the multitude of words, sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise.” Proverbs 10:19
“A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.” Proverbs 18:7
“Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles.” Proverbs 21:23
“But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.” James 3: 8-10
“Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:29-32
I really don’t have to say anything else, as scripture speaks for itself. I don’t know why God laid it on my heart to share this. Maybe someone else needs to hear it. I just ask that you all keep me in your prayers as I try to tame this tongue of mine. I want so badly to be someone that other’s can say of me that I spoke words of encouragement. That my words held wisdom and not judgment. That my words were always spoken out of love. That I was slow to comment unless necessary and to build up. That I was slow to speak and quick to listen. That I am quick to hit my knees and slow to run my mouth.
We are called to use our tongues for good, and in a world that embraces the idea that your opinions and what you have to say defines you, that is so hard. It is in us to use our words to fight back, to hurt others when we have been hurt, to defend ourselves, and to say just what we think about that. But I challenge myself, and you, to slow our tongues down. Use only words that are spoken out of love and that from which God’s heart flows. And please, forgive me if my words have hurt you.
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, oh Lord, my strength and my redeemer.” Psalms 19:14
