I don’t know about you, but I have found myself in this situation more times than I care to admit. I think I have a handle on all the facts, I am convinced that there is a certain way to walk, and my mouth follows my thinking. But then a few steps in I learn something new, gain new insight or wisdom, and all of a sudden what I was so sure of before is revealed to be faulty thinking. The times this has happened where I guarded my mouth in the process, I was able to change coarse tactfully and without issues. But when my mouth was not guarded, the humbling that happens in the shift is very uncomfortable. Feelings and relationships can be hurt, and the damage control needed after the fact can be substantial.  

Because here is the uncomfortable truth… I am not God. I don’t have His perspective and I don’t see all the facts. I am not always right, even when I am sure that I am. It’s hard to admit and even harder to live constantly in the realization of it. But your perspective and mine are hopelessly limited. We never… let me repeat that… never have all the facts. We are always operating on limited knowledge and understanding. As much as we may be convinced that we know it all, we just don’t. 

So, what do we do about it? We walk through life looking for God’s truth over our own. We lean on what HE says is true even when we don’t feel it, see it, or understand it. And we guard our mouths. Now, guarding your mouth doesn’t mean never speaking out. But it does mean testing your words against the truth of God’s word. It means speaking like Christ speaks and thinking like Christ thinks. It means studying Him so that we can catch when our thoughts and words don’t match up.  

See, the role of a guard is to test what comes and goes through a doorway or entrance. They evaluate each person who wants to pass to determine if they are safe and if they belong. We have to do this with our words too. We have to test them and ask if they are safe and if they belong. And the only way to know is to test them against the Word.  

So, this week, as you examine your words, ask yourself if you’ve posted a guard at the door of your mouth. And who is that guard? Is it you? Or is it the perfect guard- the Holy Spirit? Are we asleep at the door or are we diligent, being led by the Spirit to test every word? I know I have a lot of growing in this area. Will you join me this week as we seek to surrender to the perfect words of Christ over our own?