It is not what goes into the mouth of a man that defiles and dishonors him, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles and dishonors him. Matthew 15:11 AMP
Jesus said these words in response to religious leaders asking Him why his disciples didn’t wash their hands. Jesus candidly responded that it’s not what might be on your hands that you may ingest that “pollutes”(MSG) you but rather the words that you speak.
They left, frustrated by his words. Peter pulls him aside and asks him what He meant. Jesus responds, “Don’t you know that anything that is swallowed works its way through the intestines and is finally defecated? But what comes out of the mouth gets its start in the heart. It’s from the heart that we vomit up evil arguments, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, lies, and cussing. That’s what pollutes. Eating or not eating certain foods, washing or not washing you hands – that’s neither here nor there.” (Matthew 15:16-20 MSG)
I like the way the Amplified Bible uses “defiles and dishonors.” Notice the words don’t defile and dishonor others but rather the speaker.
What are you saying?
Are your words defiling and dishonoring you?
Friends, we are living in a time where casually referring to people on the opposite side of the political aisle as idiots, or dumb asses, or worse is acceptable. And often we find ourselves going right along with it. We fall into one of two camps, the one that says I have rights and how dare the government tell me what to do or what is wrong with people who won’t wear a mask, they are selfish.
I want to caution you to guard your mouth and your ears. What you are listening to can color what you say. I know this first hand. There is a TV show that I really enjoyed about 10 years ago. It would come on and I’d grab some popcorn and watch for 30 minutes. I’d laugh and laugh. Without even realizing it, seeds were being planted in me. And before I knew it, I was swearing. Not bad swearing, at least that’s how I justified it, just a few bad words that were acceptable for television. However, they were not acceptable for a 4th grade classroom (I was a 4th grade teacher at the time.)
I came to realize that I needed to stop watching the show. Oh, friends, it was so hard. I love a good laugh. It was painful and I’m not being overly dramatic. But I let the show go, because what I was hearing was corrupting me. Those seeds had taken root and were starting to bare fruit.
Are you listening to negativity or slander or gossip? If so, make a change. Literally, change the channel like I did.
As I write about in Stop the Lies: 30 Days to Freedom, in order to stop the lie replace it with truth. So…in order to stop the negativity or slander or gossip replace it with positivity or praise or truth. And when you do, you will find you feel better. Why? Because you are not dishonoring yourself, and you just so happen to be the temple of the Holy Spirit.
You see the words you say are planting seeds inside of you and those seeds will take root and they will produce fruit. Jesus tells us in Matthew 12:34, “For whatever is in your heart determines what you say.” (NLT) And the cycle continues.
The foul words come out of our mouth which in turn go right back into our heart and back out our mouth. We have to break the cycle.
How Do You Break the Cycle?
I think we break the cycle not by trying to do it on our own, that never works for me, instead going before the Lord in repentance. Repentance is a beautiful gift given to us by the grace and love of Jesus. Repentance invites us to humbly go before the Father with our sin or short coming, whatever you want to call it. Take it to the Lord. Confess it to Him. Acknowledge you want to walk in a new direction…mainly away from the sin. Finally ask Him to replace this sin with His Truth.
I like to start my prayer of repentance with that familiar verse in Psalm 139, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” I want to make sure that there is nothing separating me from experiencing Him fully.
I would like to challenge you to ask Him if there is anything you could change about the way you speak. Our Lord is a kind and gentle God, He will gently and kindly show you. Don’t be afraid to ask the Lord to search you. After the search and the repentance, you will experience greater freedom, more of His presence, and walk in more of His love.
He has good things for you, don’t let the words you are saying rob those good things from you.
*Stop the Lies: 30 Days to Freedom, my latest book, is available on Amazon. Click here to purchase your copy and a copy for a friend.
