East End

6-22-08

Text: Psalm 19:14

Do you remember growing up seeing the three monkeys that were titled, “Hear no evil, see no evil, and speak no evil?” In today’s world we could all use a picture of those three monkeys with their hands over their ears, eyes, and mouth. In a culture that has profanity, sensuality, and other forms of crudeness on the television, radio, and internet it is no surprise that many people struggle with sin. We should never blame our surroundings for our choices, but I am saying that opportunities present themselves to stray from God everywhere and so we need to be conscience. We must be so careful with the words we use, because the words that come out of our mouth are a reflection of our heart. This is especially true if you are the parent of a small child. It reminds me of a joke I heard that goes like this. “One Sunday after service was over a little boy walked up to the preacher and wanted to give the preacher his money. The preacher looked down puzzled and asked what is this for. The little boy said that he wanted to give it to the preacher. Puzzled, the preacher asked the little boy why. The little boy responded, ‘because my dad says you are the poorest preacher we have ever had.’” Now we all undoubtedly get a good laugh out of that, including myself, but we must be careful because there is a lesson to learn from this. Notice what David writes in verse 14, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight.” We as Christians try to rationalize the things we do, say, and think. We do this by saying, “well this person did this, or that person said that.” Or even better when we hear someone say something they shouldn’t our response is, “I can’t believe they said that.” We must remember that God knows not only all of our words, but even our thoughts. If our thoughts were broadcast onto national TV and radio would you be ashamed? That is at the heart of what David is saying, Lord help me to guard my heart and my mouth so that I don’t say anything I wouldn’t want repeated to the whole world. The best way to guard your heart and your mouth is to stay in close communion with God by reading your Bible daily and praying throughout the day. Always remember, even when no one is around, God is there. May we use our lips to sing His praises and keep His love in our hearts God bless you this week.