Lip Control

Do you remember this childhood phrase: "loose lips sink ships?"  Seemed sort of stupid as a child, but as an adult it makes TERRIBLE sense!

Lips are interesting body parts.  To make them more attractive, we color and outline them but perhaps the most intriguing thing about lips is they conceal something extremely dangerous -- the tongue!  Yep, that thing that is known to protrude through the lips to display disgust at teachers, bullies ... yes, even parents.  It’s amazing to consider lips as the hiding place for that which sounds both pleasure & kindness as well as pain & deceit.  David spoke of the ownership of our lips in Psalms 12 and reminds us our lips (tongue) are capable of causing tremendous good or tremendous evil.  "... Flattering lips speak with deception" (v2b) and "May the Lord cut off all flattering lips and every boastful tongue that says, 'We will triumph with our tongues; we own our lips ...' " (v3-4).  It is true, we use our lips to build ourselves up over others causing deep emotional pain.  It is true, we utter unkindness we cannot retrieve to those we hold dearest resulting in irreversible harm.  It is true, our lips are used as a weapon of hate instead of a fountain of love, mercy, and kindness.  It does not have to be so, however:  "The words of the Lord are FLAWLESS, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times."  I like those words -- flawless, refined, purified.  Truth is, we can paint 'em and dress 'em up real nice, but the tongue is a beast, monster, wretched!  Let's admit it – we cannot control it so we do well to give up ownership.  Turn our lips (tongue) over to The One who knows how to control, refine, purify and use them in divine fashion.  It’s truly the best method of … lip control.

Dear Lord,

Teach me to seek you first for a pure and undefiled heart, trusting Your grace to be my perfect guide in all I say and do.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.