I'll start off with scripture from James chapter 3:
"Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the the same mouth come praise and cursing."
Think about that for a minute. What comes out of our mouths can be the highest praise to our King. It can be exactly what a depressed person needed to hear. It can lift the spirits of someone who has suffered loss, pain and anguish. It can be used to save someone from eternal damnation and share the love of Christ and what He did for them.
On the opposite side, it can be used to bring death and destruction. It can become a vile pit of despair and treachery and bring total chaos into someone's life. It can tear down the restless and sting the soul of the innocent.
We fail to realize what a powerful tool our tongue is. It literally has the power to bring life or death into our lives. James 3 also says: "but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison." I believe that when James wrote this to the twelve tribes, he was giving them a challenge. A challenge to watch what comes out of their mouth. Is what they are saying lining up with the Word of God? If so, it is bringing life, if not, it is bringing death and destruction.
We must remember what is in the heart comes out the mouth (Matt. 15:18). How do we control what is in the heart? By being steadfast at what we let our eyes see and ears hear. What is in our heart matters the most with the Lord. If we do great works in His name; casting out demons, healing the sick and giving to the poor, but our heart did not have the right motives, the motives of God, it was all for not. Our heart motives need to be of God's heart. Our hearts should beat with his. If his heart is full of compassion for someone, ours should too.
Its all a big cycle. We let our eyes and ears see and hear things all day long; people, TV, radio, cell phone, etc. That's all fine. But its how we interpret what we heard that's important. Did what that person say bring life or death? How do you feel about that? Are you going to let your heart accept that thing as truth and let it be ok? Or will you stand up inside yourself and say NO! That is not of God and I do not let that penetrate my heart! That decision is the precursor to what comes from our lips. You WILL say what's in your heart, that's just how it is. It's a constant struggle everyday to live in this world. We are constantly inundated with negative speech and things opposite of God's will. We must always ask the Lord to take out the heart motives that are not of Him, and make our hearts pure before Him.
David was called "A man after God's own heart" even from a young age, before he was even king! He sought the heartbeat of God, wanting His motives to captivate him. Sure, he messed up many times throughout his life, but he always was after God's heart.
When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist (Matt. 3:13) and God said "This is my son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased," not one miracle had yet been done by the hand of Jesus. What does this mean? God was pleased with the attitude and motive of Jesus' heart, not His works! He hadn't done any works yet, the Father was looking at His heart! This should show us that no matter what we do for God, no matter how many we lead to the Lord or how many sick we heal in His name, we must always make sure our heart is in the motions of His. If we don't first captivate that fire and keep it burning, nothing else matters.
God wants us to have hearts after Him before we go after them.
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