Your speech matters.

In previous posts we have seen that. And we've considered what bad speech looks like and what good speech looks like. But, what do you do if you have diffiulties in the way you speak?

First, you repent.

The difference between a fool and a wise person in Proverbs is not that the wise person is so much smarter than the fool, the difference is how they take rebuke.

The wise person listens.

And so knowing the important of speech, what do you do, if you are wise?

You have your Bible open. You read what it says. And you look at your life, and when you are not obeying, what God says, you confess it as sin, and you repent, which means, you turn from that sin, and you seek to change.

If you look at your life, and you lie a lot. You say God, this is wrong. It’s sin. Please forgive me. If you have lied to someone, you go to them, and you confess that you lied, and you say this was sin, please forgive me. And then, you look at why you are lying, is it to exalt yourself? Is it because you are afraid God can’t take care of you?

And then you repent of that as well.

Because it’s not just the lying that’s sin, it’s also that stuff in your heart, and then you exercise faith, you focus on the promises of God. You actively put your faith in to action. Listen, I don’t need to exalt myself because I have the righteousness of Christ. And God’s going to glorify me. And I don’t have to take care of myself, by saying things that aren’t true, because God’s going to take care of me. And, you put on truth. If you know you struggle with lying, you work at replacing your lies, with bold truth, and you have to push yourself, so that telling the truth becomes a new pattern in your life.

And anyway, that’s just one example, which you can do, with almost anything, but if you are going to change, you need to do it. It’s no good to know everything Proverbs says about good speech and bad speech, if you don’t personally respond, by evaluating your speech, and repenting where you need to, and I mean, repenting thoroughly.

Now, second, and this is actually key.  Ultimately, how you speak, reveals who you are, so, if you are going to speak well, who you are, has to change.

It’s out of the heart, Jesus says, that the mouth speaks, Luke 6:45. 

The problem for some of you might be bigger than just learning a new way to speak, it might be, that your speech reveals you really aren’t a Christian.

You lie all the time because you never truly trusted God. And you gossip all the time because you don’t really love people. And you boast constantly because you really do want others to think you are great. And I guess, I just want to say to you, that’s a big deal, because you are going to be judged in the future  for what you say, and, the way you speak, is going to hurt you and others, now, as well. So if you experiencing conviction as you look at the way you speak, it's important you respond, not just by trying a little harder to speak better, but perhaps by evaluating, am I believer, and if you are not a believer going to God, and asking for a new heart. I need a new heart, that believes you, that loves people, that wants to glorify you, and that’s going to be the first step to change. But it’s not going to be the last. And so let me talk to those of you who are Christians, and you are sure, but, still I need to ask, what does the way you speak to others say about, you?

I was talking to someone once and it was kind of funny, but we were talking about pride and he said, you knowat least my pride is not an ugly pride. I am better than other people. Their pride is really bad.

He really pretty much said that. I mean, three sentences in a row.

And I said, whoah, wait a second, listen to yourself. Even, maybe write those three sentences down. My pride is not an ugly pride. I am better than other people. Their pride is really bad. What does that say?  Listen to yourself.

And I think, we all need to learn to do that, a little.

If somehow we recorded our everyday conversations, just the normal talk around our house, and then we played that to someone who didn’t know us, what would the way we talked on a daily basis, cause them to think about who we are?

Because that is, who we are.

We can’t separate our normal patterns of speech, from our character, and yeah it might be that someone is not a Christian, that might be what it says, or two, it might just be that someone is not mature. You are a Christian, but you have got a lot of growth to do and so if you really want to speak in a way that is good for others and good for you and most importantly glorifies God, then you should work at filling yourself up with truth, and work at becoming wise, because you know what is going to happen if your mind is filled with truth and your heart is filled with love for God, uour mouth is going to be filled with truth and love for God.

Quoting Solomon, Proverbs 10:11.

“The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life.”

If you want your mouth to be a fountain of life, what you do?

Evaluate.

Is this because I am not a Christian? Is this because I need to grow as a Christian?

And commit to that growth.

In other words, be righteous.

Because I guarantee you as you work at knowing and obeying God, it’s going to show up, in the way you speak.