Fall Creek Friends
Pastor's Pen |
| Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. – Psalm 19:14 We live in a world where verbal communication is a very important part of how we transmit information. Words are very powerful and can literally make or break a person’ s reputation, career, or even their life. The news media loves to report the latest breaking news. On television there are morning talk shows, afternoon talk shows and evening talk shoes. We like to know what is going on even if what we hear is more rumor than truth. Celebrities can be famous not because of a talent or skill but simply for being famous. There are infotainment shows on that try to convince us that what happens beyond a persons chosen profession is just as important or maybe even more so than their latest film or television show. With the new lower standards where nothing in a person's past is held sacred those who envision a career in politics may find that when the closets are opened and all of the skeletons are drug out into the light of day it may be more truth than they wanted to reveal. We as a nation and even a culture are addicted to information. We carry smart phones that enable us to keep up. For those who participate in the social media of Facebook or Twitter you receive your information in real time. Solomon warns us in Proverbs 23:6-7 of this “Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: 7For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.” It is a warning that sometimes what people say is just a mask for what they are really thinking. In Psalm 19 David tells of the glories of God’s general revelation and then he writes of the glories of the law of the Lord and how it meets our spiritual needs. One of the benefits of the law is that it warns us of sin and keeps us from sin. It shows us sins that we may be ignorant of doing and those that we may do intentionally. Jesus said it is the things that come from our heart that make us unclean. We always need to be on guard against sin in our lives. How many of us give a great deal of thought to what we say? From the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Do we take the time to have wise thoughts that will become wise words? When we meditate we take the time to reflect or ponder over like a cow chewing its cud we go over and over it. Our words do have effects on others and we have a responsibility to use them for the good and not for harm. The Psalmist reminds us that we want the things we think about as well as those words we say to be acceptable to God. Jesus said that we would have to give an account before God of everything that we say. With that kind of accountability we need to ask the Lord daily for His strength and power to think and speak in ways that honor Him. After all Jesus did not save us for ourselves we were redeemed to glorify Him. H. Scott Latimer |
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