I’m not much of a dog person. They like to lick on you and chew up stuff. They have careless tongues. They enjoy slobbering all over you…especially after you have managed to get dressed for the day. I don’t guess it helps that we have almost 70 lb. dog named Hank that does all of the above. I lovingly refer to him as “my husband’s dog”…’cause me and ‘ole Hank tolerate each other most days. 🤣
Hank’s mouth gets him in trouble around here. He is always chewing up something. He licks me when he knows I don’t like being licked and I find drool all over my throw pillows. He is quite careless with that tongue of his and I am constantly having to fuss at him over what comes out of his mouth!
Most of time, humans are no different. We don’t know when to keep our mouth shut. We love to chew up other people and then spit them out. We enjoy slobbering out words that do not to edify Christ, others or even ourselves. Our tongues are no more careless than that of a dog. Well, in Matthew 12, Jesus talks about a careless tongue. In verse 36-37, He says,
“But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.”
Idle: careless…without thought.
Before these words, Jesus says that we know a tree by the fruit it bears and that our mouths speak from the overflow of the heart. So, whatever is on the inside is going to come out! Our tongues have power, y’all. Do we allow our tongue, with all its power, to be used carelessly or without thought? In the context of the scripture, these words were meant for the Pharisees, but I see more and more that we have become like drooling dogs over a savory bone when it comes to “saying something”. We spew words like slobber in hopes of them sticking somewhere. Most of the time they do nothing but “dirty up” a situation instead of bringing light to those around us.
Let’s choose our words carefully…no careless or slobbering tongues.
If our tongues are going to wag, then let them speak of The Way, The Truth and The Light.
We don’t want our mouths getting us in trouble when we stand before God, now do we?
