Your Speech and Your Heart

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

If you are a Christ follower, there should be a connection between the purity of your heart and your external activity. There are some, unfortunately that are deceived or confused about this. Maybe they have confused their love of religious activity with love for God. In other words, their religion is strictly ritual. They may attend church services, give money, read a daily devotional, but the truth of the matter is their hearts are far from God. 

Our Lord’s brother, James, wrote one of the books in the New Testament. In it, he disregards claims of Christianity that aren’t followed by obedience to the Word of God. You might call them “tests of Christianity.” And, hold on to your hats ladies and gentlemen, one of them has to do with how you talk. The test goes like this: If you think you’re religious, you’ll bridle (hold in check, restrain) your tongue. 

Why a test of the tongue, you ask? Because that little object is like an Xray of your heart. Jesus said, “From the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” [Matthew 12.34]. Godly speech displays a godly heart. Righteous speech displays a transformed heart. Corrupt speech betrays an unregenerate heart. It doesn’t really matter how orthodox your theology is, if your tongue is out of control, your religion is useless!

How about it, Christ follower, do your words reveal a pure heart? The Apostle Paul exhorted the Ephesian Christ followers to “let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear” [4.29]. 

That exhortation is good for us too! Oh that we would be people with the grace of disciplined speech! Keep in mind, today and everyday, your speech reveals the condition of your heart. 

If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless. James 1.26