Watching what we say

“Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.” Proverbs 4:24
There are several verses in the Bible that remind us to keep a guard on our mouth (Ps. 141:3), to not let any unwholesome talk come out of our mouths (Eph. 4:29), etc. Often when we read these we immediately think it refers to not using swear words in our vocabulary. While this is one aspect of watching what we say, there are other aspects of our speech as well that we need to refrain from doing as Christians. The terms in today’s verse are must broader than just using curse words in what we say. Here are some other things we need to stop from being a part of our conversations: coarse jokes, sexual innuendo – alluding to bad language or evil things without necessarily saying them; lying, boasting, and gossip – all things that God hates (Prov. 6:16-19). James tells us that if we are able to master our tongues, we are able to control our whole body (James 3:2-6). Jesus tells us that our words give an indication of what is in our hearts (Matt. 12:36-37). Our words are a great part of our Christian witness – not only the words we use when we are sharing the gospel with people, but the words we use day by day with our friends, family, colleagues, etc. Is what is coming out of our mouths consistent with what we say we believe? Do we use a different kind of language when talking with people at church and people in our workplaces? If you were aware of Jesus being with you wherever you are, would you talk differently?