The Heart - The Tongue - And The Abundance Of Them Both

I can't count the number of times that I have told my children..."You better check your heart"....meaning that they need to examine their motive for doing or wanting something.

Words like "Out of the abundance of the HEART the MOUTH speaks"...that's a good one to give to your raging PMSing teen age daughter!!

The truth is that the error isn't in the mouth or the tongue. It starts in the heart. The word is filled with scriptures that teach and correct and exhort us to be mindful of the tongue.

"There is power of life and death in the tongue"

James 3:3-4 (NLT) "We can make a large horse turn around and go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. And a tiny rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot wants it to go, even though the winds are strong."

Our mouth and words we speak. The words we throw. The words we spew are generated by the heart. The are formed in the secret place that no one sees. But the cool thing about all this is that the motive of the heart is always revealed eventually. Good or bad.

Sarcasm is a great tip off. If sarcasm is used often it tells me that there is unaddressed anger and bitterness that quite possibly is poisoning the heart. I was taught that SARCASM is a form of 'anger turned inward' which usually develops into depression. BUT if it is turned outward again it manifests itself as sarcasm. Something to think about. Do you know any really sarcastic people? If you are into analyzing things...think on this one! And then let me know what you come up with.

Joking and foolish talk is another clue into the heart. A fake smile. A way of hiding what is inside. A mask. A way of avoiding pain. A way to not address feelings that we don't think that matter to others. Or are afraid to risk sharing.

My kids can quote the above verses by heart and do often when they are talking to each other. Especially when one of them blows it. Get mouthy or disrespectful. Which for me is cool to watch as the mom that 'trained them up'.

BUT I wonder...perhaps I should have taken this further and challenged the heart of my kids. Not just addressed the tongue. Perhaps, I have taught them to hide that heart by leading them by my example. You know as a mom with twins graduating this year and a 24 yr old daughter hoping to FINALLY leave the nest....I wonder if I have truly prepared them for life 'out there'. I think that I have forgotten to give them a few tools for their toolboxes. Such as self examination. Lamenting over their path. Charting out where they are and where they want to be and HOW to get there.

I think I still have some work to do in the little time I have left with them under my roof......