Toothpaste Words Part 1

“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.”

Psalms 19:14

Have you ever said something and as soon as the words left your lips or even as they are leaving your lips you regret saying them? I think we can all relate to that. On occasion years ago, I had the privilege to teach chapel with the junior high and high school girls. One popped into my mind recently. I started out chapel with a race of 3 girls to peel petals off a flower and then a race for

3 others to try to put them back on. Then a race of 3 girls to each empty a tube of toothpaste. Then again, 3 girls tried to put all the toothpaste back in the tube. You guessed it, it didn’t work. The lesson was about how easy and fast it was to squeeze the toothpaste out of the tube and how impossible it was to get it back into the tube again. Same followed with the flower and petals. The same with our words.

“He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.”

Proverbs 13:3

I think by now you kind of get the idea here. Some things that you destroy cannot be put back the way it was. You know that is just like our words sometimes. When you just blurt out something when you are mad or upset or maybe just because you don’t think before you speak? I think at some point we have all been in that situation at one time or another. Either on the giving or

receiving end. Which side do you think hurts most? I think that we can all agree that being on the receiving end is the most hurtful.

What does God have to say about the words that come out of our mouth? What can we do to stop some of the hurtful things that we may say? The world says words don’t hurt anyone, but God says, “There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword:” Proverbs 12:18 The world tells us that gossip is

harmless, but God says: “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.” Matthew 12:36

When we give our lives to Jesus, we give Him everything and this includes our tongues as well. I guess the question would be: Have you given your ALL to the Lord? Does He control your life and the words that come out of your mouth or do you? Only you can answer that, and you can fool those around you but remember another saying that says, “actions speak louder than words.” That

means that you may say that you are a Christian and that you want God to guide your life, but your actions and your words say something different altogether. God knows your heart. He sees your heart.

“If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain."

James 1:26

We have all heard the words “Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words can never hurt you?” You know what? Words can hurt and they can hurt deeply and sometimes more fatal than stabbing someone with a knife. Would any of you ever do that? Would you ever stab someone with a knife? Of course not! - but you need to understand that words are much more powerful than

you could ever realize. I’m sure each of you can remember a time when you heard words either spoken to you directly or behind your back that just devastated you. The plain truth is, words hurt, don’t they? They hurt us, others, and more importantly they hurt the heart of God.

“The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.”

Proverbs 18:8

Did you get that? Harmful words are like wounds. They go deep into your being and your soul. Once they are spoken and come out of your mouth, they can’t be taken back even if you didn’t mean them and spoke out of frustration or anger. Once spoken, words cannot be wiped out or erased. Yes, you can be sorry and apologize for them, but your words will still be remembered. Maybe we say something negative about someone, but it is something small and we try to justify it and tell ourselves, “It’s no big deal, it’s just a small word and it won’t really hurt at all.” Then we wake up the next day, and we feel horrible about what we said. We’ve not only hurt someone else with our words but also ourselves and our testimony.

“Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the Lord.”

Leviticus 19:16

...to be continued