Today's Devotional

January 6, 2003

Subject: Speak With Your Mouth Closed

Matthew 15:11 - "Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man."

Matthew 15:18 - "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man."

You ever have occasion to catch somebody chewing with their mouth wide open?  We usually see this with children when they're growing up and we as parent often have to remind them to "chew with your mouth closed."  When you see it, it really is kind of disgusting and kids think it's so funny that they'll often do it just to hear parents reprimand them.  Have you ever had that same feeling of nastiness when hearing some of the things that come out of some people's mouths?  To me that is every bit as nasty and more so than the child chewing food with an open mouth.  

What makes this so much nastier is the fact that behind the ugly words, that often offend and hurt, is a heart that is filled with enough ugliness to create the words.  The answer then is not to change the words that we are speaking, but instead, to have our heart changed because the heart of the matter is that it is indeed a matter of the heart.

So while we may admonish children to chew with their mouths closed, we should think about some of the things that come out of our mouths which are much uglier.  Consider the hurt and harm that these words cause to others and perhaps we should consider speaking with our mouths closed.   

Carlen