Every day you and I give people an impression of who Jesus is by the words we use.  Are they hearing, or reading, words from you which would draw them to Christ or push them away?  Are you using words which draw you into greater relationship with God or words which create distance?  Over the next 13 days I will be sharing from the devotional journal, “Watch Your Mouth”, with the prayer that it helps you discover some of what God has to say about choosing words which honor Him.

Here is day nineteen with an important reminder that watching your mouth should lead you to use words with restraint.

Choose Restrained Words

“A man of knowledge uses words with restraint, and a man of understanding is even-tempered.  Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.”
Proverbs 17:27-28 (NIV)

How often do you find yourself “biting your tongue”?  Do you view that practice as a good thing or bad?  Why?  How does being filled with godly knowledge help a person have restraint with their words?  Have you ever been injured by words spoken rashly?  Have your unrestrained words ever injured someone?  What did you do about it?  What should you?  Why does it seem so difficult for most people to choose restrained words?

Here in the United States, we pride ourselves on having a freedom of speech that can’t be taken away from us.  Because we often hear about our first amendment rights, we start to believe we must exercise that right at every opportunity.  Many act as if when a thought enters their mind, they must express it as soon as possible.  God calls for us to choose restrained words so that we consider His perspective before we speak.  As you pray, ask God to help you to put a reign on your tongue.  Pray that you would always take the time to hear how something might sound before you actually speak it.  Pray that God would fill you with the wisdom to know when to speak words which have been restrained.

In prayer,

Tom