I have a big mouth. If you have read my testimony, you know that I have struggled with panic attacks and an anxiety disorder that most of
time left my tongue paralyzed when it came to simple things, such as ordering a meal or answering
phone. God delivered me from
solitude I had imprisoned myself in. However, I had a new problem--now I talked too much. I have started to monitor my words and have been shocked by what I discovered. Complaining...gossiping...fault-finding...even negative words and word curses. Matthew 12:36 says “But I tell you that men will have to give account on
day judgment for every careless word they have spoken.” I don't know about you, but I think it's time to get our mouths in order.
According to Proverbs 18:21, death and life are in
power of
tongue. Deuteronomy 30:19 makes it even clearer by saying “This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.”
When God created
world, Genesis 1:3 says “And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.” He gave you that same power to speak things into existence. You might be thinking "how is that possible?"
Mark 11:23 states "I tell you
truth, if anyone says to this mountain, `Go, throw yourself into
sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.” According to this verse, you can have what you say--negative or positive. Throughout
Bible, especially in Proverbs, God speaks about our mouths.
James 3:3-10 shows us that our tongues are like a bit in a horse's mouth. With that bit in place, you can control
animal, turn it any way you want it to go. Or like a ship that can be steered by a small rudder. Our tongues are little, but they can contaminate our whole bodies and
lives of others around us.
We are
only creatures created by God that can choose what we say. Although a parrot can talk, he can't choose
words that come out of his mouth. He only repeats what he hears. Verse 9 notes “With
tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness.” and Verse 10--”Out of
same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.”
In church or around godly friends, we praise God and talk about what
Bible says. When we arrive home, when we are in a jam--lost our car keys, , had an argument or our teenage daughter announces she's pregnant, we complain, gossip and, believe it or not, we even curse people and ourselves with our words. Have you ever called a person "stupid," said you wished they were dead or that you were never born? Those are all word curses.
Charles Capps speaks of a woman in his book God's Creative Power for Healing. Whenever this woman got mad, she would say "that just burns me up." She would say it several times a day. For several months,
woman continued to have a fever, but
doctors couldn't figure out why. She had no physical reason to have a fever. Then
doctor asked her about her habits. When he found out she had been saying "that just burns me up," he told her to stop. He wasn't sure if it had anything to do with
fever. Within weeks, her fever left her.