The more I listen to people,
the more I realize that few
actually listen to themselves.
Often, as I sit and listen
to others monologues,
I will hear them contradict
themselves numerous times.
I suppose what it really comes down to
is that people often fail
to think before they speak.
Yet, on-the-other-hand,
I have had plenty of encounters
with people who do the opposite.
They will think before they speak;
going so far as to rehearse what they want to say.
This isn't an "all bad" thing
(I often do this myself),
yet, I have noticed that often,
there is a hidden agenda
behind their words;
making sure that everyone knows
just what they think
without any interest in what anyone else thinks.
We all know that little cliche
that says,
"We were given two ears and one mouth
so that we can listen twice as much
as we speak."
Yet, few actually put this into practice.
Much of what people speak
is driven by emotion without any thought
of effect.
Now, I've certainly been guilty
of all of the above,
otherwise, I would have no room
to speak of it.
But as I have allowed God to reveal myself to me,
I have also allowed Holy Spirit to
show and teach me how to change.
In John 14 (vs 10),
Jesus says,
"The words that I speak to you
aren't mere words.
I don't just make them up
on my own.
The Father who resides in Me
crafts each word into
a divine act."
And we are told many times
in the Bible that the tongue
is a mighty force,
wielding the power
of life & death.
Jesus' example reveals to us
the purpose of God;
which is to
give Life.
Further along in John 14,
Jesus tells us that because of Him,
we also have this same power and ability;
to speak Life and goodness over people.
However, the opposite is true as well.
If we choose NOT to allow
our words to cooperate with the purposes
of God,
then we allow them to cooperate with
the purposes of the evil one.
So, how do we know the difference?
Simple.
If our words are not
kind, loving, honorable, noble, uplifting, edifying, true -
- Good,
then they are not of God.
Holy Spirit has two things He does with me
when I have conversations with people.
The first is to quicken my pulse
when He is prompting me to say something
He wants them to hear.
The other thing is
to place His hand on my arm
when I am tempted to say something
that is better left unsaid.
By following these two little "checks",
I am able to rest in knowing that
my conversations have been pleasing to Him.
They key is
obedience.
I do this even with my blog posts.
Many writings have ended up in the garbage
as I allow Holy Spirit to choose
what goes public.
Why?
Because
I want to be like
Jesus!
As David said,
"May the words from my mouth
and the things in my heart
be acceptable in the sight of the Lord."
Indeed,
these are wise words
to live by!
