Proverbs 13:3

This week's GROW verse was Proverbs 13:3 "Those who guard their lips preserve their lives,

    but those who speak rashly will come to ruin." (NIV). This week, I really enjoyed a mash up of NIV and NLT verses. I will add the whole NLT here:" Those who control their tongue will have a long life;
    opening your mouth can ruin everything."

Zech Mash Up Translation: Those who guard their lips preserve their lives; opening your mouth can ruin everything.

This month as GROW focuses on the words of our hearts, I am feeling particularly convicted. I don't want to admit to myself, much less a lovely group of women, how awful my tongue is. There is no guard on my tongue. I get angry, I try to bite my tongue, but it builds up inside and end up spewing even worse. I need a guard, and that guard is the Living Word of God, so this month I am challenging myself to listen. To not shy away. To not avoid. God may convict, but He does not condemn! 

What is the importance of guarding my lips?? It preserves my life!!! This doesn't mean that if I speak a harsh word I will keel over on the spot. I am sure we have all referenced Luke 6:45 at least once "A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of." (NIV).

When I speak harshly, I am displaying what is really in my heart. If my heart is really full enough of anger to speak harshly, I do not have enough Jesus love in my heart. If I do not have enough Jesus love in my heart, I am sinning, sinning, sinning and thus slowly dying, dying, dying. The Word of God brings life! Yet if I do not have that stored in my heart I am not truly living. I guess that makes me some sort of zombie!!

So guarding my lips preserves my life, both here on earth as I work to keep my lips and thus heart clean, and in the afterlife, 'storing up treasures in heaven'. THAT seems rather important. 

The second part of the Zech Mash Up Translation seems pretty apparent to me. "Opening your mouth can ruin everything". Everything. Everything. Your children, stung by harsh words. Your friendships, over in a blink. Your marriage, slowly corroded by bitterness. Your walk with God, losing life with anger instead of gaining life through storing up the Word. Everything in your life will be touched and affected, unless you can guard your mouth. 

If this week's GROW verse doesn't show us the importance of watching what we say, I don't know how we will ever get the message. Watching what we say will be hard at first, sometimes we may literally need to put our hand over our mouth to keep from saying what comes up. But by replacing those words with His Words.....slowly, but ever surely, we will get there. Our first response will one day be soft, gentle, God-filled words. And they will bring life.

Anyone else further along the path on this than me?? Share your tips, helpful verses, or other thoughts below! Meet you there!