Page 60 - Sarah's Children

corrupt mixture in our speech. I sat and listened to a couple speak of the necessity
of holiness in the lives of the saints one day. They shared scriptures that the Spirit
was bringing to them and what they shared was quite profound, yet less than a half
hour later the conversation had degenerated into coarse jesting, sexual innuendo,
and foolish speech. James asks the questions:

James 3:10-12
From the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren,
these things ought not to be this way. Does a fountain send out from the
same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren,
produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.

Even as the Spirit challenged me to elevate my goals and to desire to become perfect
in speech, the same challenge awaits every woman who aspires to godliness. What
does godliness imply? It implies being like God, and we have Yahshua’s own
confession that He never spoke a word of His own initiative, but He spoke just the
words the Father commanded Him to speak. How much less speech there would be
in the world if we all practiced this same obedience?

My wife read a book where the woman author spoke of her efforts to be more godly
in her speech. She began trying to avoid unnecessary and frivolous conversation. She
would get up in the morning and enter into communion with God before she spoke
to anyone else. She would also set her answering machine on her phone to answer
all calls, and she chose to return calls at certain times of day when she knew people
would be less likely to want to ramble in conversation. She would call people back
when they were preparing dinner, for example, for she knew that there would be less
of a tendency for the person to try to engage her in a lengthy conversation. She knew
the truth of the scripture that states “When there are many words, transgression is
unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise.”

When you bring this area of your life into conformity to the will of God you will see
that people begin to perceive you differently. People will place a higher value upon
your counsel and your words. People will sense a greater conviction when they hear
the truth spoken from your lips. You will stand out from the crowd of careless
talkers. In Proverbs we are told that “even a fool appears wise when he does not open
his mouth.”

Are you known to others as a person who is talkative? Do you find yourself speaking
all day long, jumping from one issue and topic to another? Often I have found that
the most talkative people are oblivious to how others perceive them. It is those who
restrain their speech that are accounted as wise. The foolish person will let
everything inside come forth as a gusher of words. There is no guard over their lips.