Day 17

There is an intimate relationship of cause and effect between speech and character. Character determines speech, but speech feeds character.

“...out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.”  —MATTHEW 12:34

If you want to know the state of someone’s heart, hang around long enough to listen to what comes out of their mouth.  Sooner or later, when the guard is let down, the mouth will give expression of the heart. What we say wells up from what we are – for it is from the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.

Our words can be a power for good or evil. The book of Proverbs has a lot to say about this. Chapter 10, verse 19 says, “When words are many, sin is not absent …..” Many words can create an environment for sin, especially when we feel the need to express an opinion about everything.  So the writer adds, “….but he who holds his tongue is wise.” 

Proverbs 12:13 says, “An evil man is trapped by his sinful talk,” and 16:27 says, “A scoundrel plots evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire.” These are powerful images of not only how speech expresses character, but also how speech molds character. There is an intimate relationship of cause and effect between speech and character. Character determines speech, but speech feeds character.  This is why our dependence on the Lord plays an important role in how we use our tongues. Proverbs 16:1 tells us, “… from the Lord comes the reply of the tongue.” And as Isaiah 50:4 says, “The sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue …..”  An instructed tongue comes from the Lord, but we have to make time for that. The last part of that verse says, “He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my heart to listen like one being taught.” What shape is our heart in? Are we listening?