Christian Message Boards: Bridle Your Mouth Against Idle Words

This is topic Bridle Your Mouth Against Idle Words in forum Bible Topics & Study at Christian Message Boards.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://thechristianbbs.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=004961

Posted by Jonathan (Member # 4194) on :

Bridle Your Mouth Against Idle Words

Over the past several months, I have been increasingly convicted by the Ruach haKodesh(Holy Spirit) of using idle words, and am feeling led to share about some things which many of us struggle with. First of all, this is not a message about the negative speech patterns, such as cursing(obscenity), complaining, lying, slander, unbelief, etc., which are obvious to most of us as not being of YHWH's holy and righteous nature. (If anyone wants to study more in depth about the power of Life and death in the tongue, and how the Blessing(through faith in Him) and the Curse(through unbelief and disobedience) are sown forth from our mouths and the aftereffects within our lives and the lives of others, I will post my message about it from about a year ago in this thread soon, called : "The Power Of Our Words".)

One of the things which is very commonplace within the collective Body of Messiah is the habit of excessive talking, overusing the mouth in trying to please others. This has been a weakness of mine for as long as I can remember, due to having been conditioned by my family and peers since my youth, to express myself in an "eloquent" manner. Oftentimes, many of us have this inner desire to sound interesting to others, to have stimulating conversation, being exciting, lively, extroverted, and outgoing. This can occur from our own "need" for acceptance and attention from other people, as well as feeling the pressure to perform and not seem "boring" or "uninteresting". However, as good as it feels to talk, talk, talk,....this is definately not of His character and nature, as the Word clearly reveals..(Proverbs 10:19)"In the multitude of words there is no lack of disobedience, But he who restrains his lips does wisely."

(Ecclesiastes 5:2, 3) "Be not rash with your mouth, and let not your heart be hasty to utter any thing before Elohim [the Almighty]: for Elohim is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few.... a fool's voice is known by a multitude of words." .People think they appear smart by much talking, but the holy and inspired Word of YHWH Elohim states just the opposite.

(Prov. 15: 2, 28a) "The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly; But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness....The heart of the righteous studies how to answer..."

(Prov. 17:27) "He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding is of a calm spirit."

(James 1:19,26) "..let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;...If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is vain." (see also James 3:2-6, 8-12)

(Prov. 13:3) "He who guards his mouth preserves his life, but he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction."

As Mark Twain said, it is : "Better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.".Here are a few more interesting quotes :

(Plato) "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something."

(Publilius Syrus) "Speech is the mirror of the soul; as a man speaks, so he is."

(Ben Jonson) "To speak and to speak well are two things. A fool may talk, but a wise man speaks."

There are those who believe that if they do not talk with words of anger, malice, obscenity, gossip, lying, murmuring, etc., that they are abiding in righteousness, but this is not always the case. Yeshua(Jesus) said to His disciples :.(Matt. 33b,34b, 36,37)"A tree is known by it's fruit...for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks....I say to you that for every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an account of it in the day of judgement. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

Contextually, this word, "idle", in Hebrew is : "כטל(batel)" or "רםיה(remiyah)", and Greek : "Άργος(argos)", meaning : "worthless, ineffective, vain, empty, careless, and unproductive.".It is not necessarily that speaking a lot of words is sinful, but when we do so in such a way that it is without merit, being irrational, unspiritual, and lacking in the true substance that is pleasing to our Abba. Whenever doing this, we are rambling and being blabbermouths. This occurs when we speak merely out of our minds with haste in the spirit of carnality and the lower self nature, instead of being led by the Ruach haKodesh, or doing so in a manner that is contrary to the nature of YHWH. It is about quality, not quantity. Likewise, we should never speak merely in human eloquence and wisdom, seeking the honor of people, but only of YHWH, while trusting in His Ruach(Breath/Spirit) to bear witness of whatever we say as we abide in Him, or even, whenever we are led to remain silent. (1Cor.2:2-5; 1Thess. 2:2-6) There are various times and seasons in His realm and ours which are interconnected, and it takes discernment and wisdom to know the difference. There is a "time to keep silence, and a time to speak". (Eccl. 3:7) May we always remain humble, using godly restraint as we talk and converse with others.

(Prov. 25:11) "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver."

Some of you may be saying to yourself, "Well, I don't do this consciously or deliberately." However, it is entirely possible that this may be occuring from a subconscious desire that you're completely unaware of. Only Abba Yah truly sees and understands our heart, which is intricated and deceitfully wicked. It is only by the light of His holy Word, the "Sword of the Ruach", that these dark seeds of the negative and hidden thoughts and intentions of the heart can be severed and removed. (Jer. 17:9,10 ; Heb. 4:12)

Isaiah the prophet became aware of his unclean mouth, and asked YHWH to cleanse his lips, and likewise, David the psalmist prayed : "Set a guard, O YHWH over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips." (Is.6:5 ; Psalm 141:3) Our speech will be "seasoned with salt", so that we may know how to talk and answer to each person, as we trust in Abba's amazing grace, allowing the Anointing of His Ruach to empower and guide us. He told Moses, "Now go forth, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you should say", and Yeshua confirmed that the Ruach of Abba will speak through us as we choose to not premeditate beforehand what we shall say, but rely in faith on Him. (Col.4:6; Ex.4:12; Matt.10:20)

Now, I close with this prayer :

Abba Yah, I ask You to convict us of any wrongdoing within our lives, including that of negative speech patterns. Teach us to walk and live in Your tangible Presence and allow Your Ruach to manifest Your "fruit" and holy nature in all It's facets and aspects. Set a guard over our mouths and teach us what, how, when, where, and to whom to speak forth words of true value and worth, which are pleasing to You and glorify Your Name. We desire to be holy, just as You are holy, Pappa. We love You because You have first loved us unconditionally and with infinite vastness, which is from everlasting to everlasting. Thank You for ALL that You have done, are doing, and shall do, in the Name of Yeshua, it IS so. Amen..

In You we live, move, and have our being,

Yehonatan ben-Elohim יְהוֹנָתָן-בן-אֱלהיִם

http://www.armsofchrist.com/forum/

Posted by TEXASGRANDMA (Member # 847) on :

We started a Bible Study in our small Care group last night on positive speaking. No, it is not new age, but we as Christians should be careful not only in what we say but in our tone when we speak.
This does not mean we don't speak the truth, but we should do so in a loving manner. Words can indeed cut like a knife.
betty

Posted by Good NewsforAll (Member # 6156) on :

Psalm 39:1 I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.

Posted by Primoa1970 (Member # 1016) on :

I like the way James compared our tongues to a ship's rudder. It's a small muscle but very powerful nonetheless. The rudder is small but yet....turns the whole ship. Can't go wrong with scripture, eh? It cuts like a knife right to our hearts (unlike the Bryan Adams song in the 80's)