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Written by Ann Thiede, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Searcy, Arkansas

Set a guard over my mouth, LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips. (Ps 141:3 NIV)

Ten years ago, I joined a Beth Moore scripture memory challenge, wanting to grow more into a wise woman of faith. The verse above was my first choice. You’ve probably heard the expression “bite your tongue!”. If you examined mine closely, you’d see it’s pretty ragged. I feel at times the verse should say, “set a lock on my mouth”! 

The apostle James dedicated half of chapter three in his New Testament letter, spelling out in graphic language the danger of the tongue. I encourage you to read the whole chapter. It is Holy Spirit truth worth heeding. Verses eight and nine say the following:

But no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.

So, is there hope for a wise woman to tame her tongue? Yes, but let’s first delve into his words. 

I’ve fallen into the “deadly poison” trap with gossip. Once, a very dear friend stopped me in my tracks when I started to tell her something about someone. She said, “Do I need to hear this?” I’ve seen and participated first-hand in gossip that hurt relationships, and it’s a “thorn”; a temptation from the evil one, and I do not want him having his way! Better to set a guard on my mouth and use it productively. 

Jesus gives us wise words for relationship repair: 

 Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. (Mt 5:23-24)

Reconciliation presents a healthy, healing way to use the tongue. Getting our hearts right with others gets our hearts right with God more than any offering we could give Him. I’ve experienced others coming to me with a grievance, and thank Jesus for supplying the humility and openness to accept whatever needed to be acknowledged. I’ve also gone to others asking forgiveness for what I believed to be a wrong done with my tongue or actions. It clears the air, leaving no room for the evil one to produce resentment or bitterness.

Another deadly poison of the tongue is cursing instead of blessing. I may not use curse words, but if you looked in my mind sometimes when aggravated, it wouldn’t be pretty, and it would be much easier for unkind words to slip out. Looking at others like Jesus would, not superficially, helps me lift up prayers for their good instead of cursing. Paul said it this way right after calling us to live no longer for ourselves, but for Jesus: “So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view” (2Co 5:16a). Once, I saw a woman screaming at her young children in the grocery store. My first impulse was worldly and judgmental. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit reminded me that I did not know her circumstances, her background, or anything about her, which helped me to pull the “thorn” out of my heart and avoid unkind words.

To help us ‘dig deeper’, Jesus says: “For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Mt 12:34b). It would do well for us to meditate on these words of David, a man after God’s own heart: “Search me, God, and know my heart…” (Ps 139:23a). “Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare Your praise” (Ps 51:15). “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer” (Ps 19:14 ESV). James encourages us to “be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry” (Jas 1:19 NIV).

As you look over these thoughts and scriptures, what will help you become a wiser woman of God, blooming and growing in your quest to tame the tongue? I hope you’ll share with another sister in Christ and encourage one another.

• MichelleJGoff
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• PracticeMakesPerfect

Written by Michelle J. Goff, Founder and Executive Director of Iron Rose Sister Ministries

Sword fighting has never been a sport that appealed to me. If I were to try, I know I would be ill-equipped to wield such a weapon. It would require training, strengthening, and a lot of practice. 

Ephesians 6:17 compares the Word of God to a sword, the final piece of the armor of God. The writer of Hebrews states that it is sharper than any two-edged sword (4:12). And in Paul’s instructions to Timothy, he states that the Scriptures can be used to teach, rebuke, correct, and train in righteousness (2Ti 3:16).

We hold a powerful weapon in our hands. And we need discernment for how to use it wisely. We don’t cut a sandwich in half with a machete. We don’t use a kitchen knife to cut back the aggressive vines that are growing around the house.

If I am going to put the Scriptures into practice wisely, what do I need to do?

1. Know the Scriptures. Keep them at the forefront of my mind, heart, soul, and strength. Speak of them when I sit and lie down (Dt 6:4-9). Hide the words in my heart (Ps 119:11).
2. Know the Author of the Scriptures. I can put the Word of God into practice better if I know the One who is speaking (Jn 12:49). “If you really know me, you will know my Father as well” (Jn 14:7 NIV). The more I hear His Word, the more I will know His voice and be able to discern what is not of Him.
3. Respect the context of the words in the Word. The Bible contains 66 books that were written in a variety of styles for a broad audience at different points in history and culture. Even if I don’t know all the background of the audience to whom the book or chapter was written, or about the writer of the book (inspired by the Holy Spirit, 2Pe 1:20-21), I can focus on the context of a verse within the entire chapter or book of the Bible.
4. Put the Scriptures into practice. Just do it! The Bible is the one book that cannot be fully understood until it is practiced.
   James 1:25 says, “But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”
5. Learn from my mistakes. Accept grace and move forward wisely. I can fall into the accuser’s trap of critique or condemnation when I look back at the foolish ways of my past (as a non-Christian or even as a young Christian when I didn’t practice the Scriptures wisely). Instead, I can hear Jesus’ words and follow Peter’s or others’ example.
   When Jesus tells Peter that he will betray Him, Jesus offers him the hope of redemption and purpose on the other side of that mistake. “But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Lk 22:32).
6. Trust the Holy Spirit to remind and guide me. When I get distracted or discouraged, I can easily forget the Word and God’s promises. “All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (Jn 14:25-26).
7. Pray, persevere, and pray some more. God honors those who seek Him. God hears my prayers and knows my desire to follow His Word and to show Him my love through obedience. He also knows that I am human and will have times of weakness along the journey. Paul expresses a similar sentiment in his letter to the Philippians.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Php 3:12-14)

Thank you for your desire to put the Scriptures into practice wisely. What have you learned that has helped you do that? How can you encourage others and be encouraged to continue in that mutual goal?