‘From the fruit of their mouth a person’s stomach is filled; with the harvest of their lips they are satisfied.’ (v20) Proverbs 18:20–21
Many of our emotions are accompanied by a physical experience. Grief grips the heart and constricts our breath. Often we act out the physical feeling we experience. We tense up with anger and give it physical or verbal expression.
Scripture is clear that we are a connected whole, and Paul states in Philippians, ‘Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things’ (Phil. 3:19). If we choose to live from our base emotions, we are going to find it very challenging to live every day with Jesus.
Just as the stomach is fed by our mouth, James reminds us that our mouths also give expression to what we have consumed from life’s experience, ‘With the tongue, we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness (James 3:9).
We can conclude that how we engage or consume, life will have a significant impact on how we live our life. We take something from each experience and it feeds us physically, emotionally and spiritually. Therefore, we must set a guard over our mouths (Psa. 141:3).
Words expressed may impact our emotions. We start talking and find ourselves suddenly consumed with tears we weren’t expecting. Scripture is clear: how we choose to manage ourselves in life’s ups and downs has an impact on how consistently we live every day.
RELATED SCRIPTURE TO CONSIDER: Psa. 34:8–22; 141; Matt. 15:1–20; Eph. 4:25–32.
AN ACTION TO TAKE: Have you set a guard over your mouth so that only that which reflects God emerges from your lips?
A PRAYER TO MAKE: ‘Lord, may I find the grace I need so that my words are sweeter than honey. Amen.’ (Psa. 19:9–13)
Photo by Reimond De Zuniga on Unsplash
