| Photo by Amin Hasani on Unsplash
James is asking followers of Jesus a question that still needs to be answered today. Does our walk match our talk? Do we talk one way and walk another way? Sometimes, the hardest battle we fight is ourselves.
James says clearly in James 1:26, “If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.”
Jesus says, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”
Examining our lives, we can become very religious and follow the rules and rituals. We can look very religious and act religious, but the true mark of being a follower of Jesus is not being religious but being like Jesus!
What are our words, speech, and tongues like? What are we posting on social media and texting to other people?
Ephesians 4:29 says: “Let no corrupt talking come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”
What are the words we say to our mates? What are the words and posts that we discuss about our mates?
What are the words we say at home? What is our speech like at work, school, and even church?
We can do all kinds of good things for the Lord, but if our talk and walk do not match – it is all worthless! In fact, we can destroy, divide, and damage the work of God by the things that come out of our mouths or the things that we post on social media!
Pray today with me: “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Pastor Ronald Squibb has been the International Christian Church (ICC) Lead Senior Pastor at Staten Island, New York, since 2011. He draws many experiences from his over 40 years as a pastor and significant emotional life experiences.
His new book, Following the Journey with Jesus, which he co-authored with Daniel McNaughton, was recently published and is getting rave reviews. His daily devotional appears in this publication.
