Tangle-Free

If you've ever gotten hung-up on a barbed wire fence, you know that is no fun at all! The more you struggle, the more tangled you become. I watched my Nanny try to untangle herself from barbed wire once ... if we could have stopped laughing, she might would have got loose lots sooner. Purity of speech doesn't necessarily reflect a pure heart. I realize there are times when neither my thoughts nor lips portray righteousness, and God knows it! Late night entertainers are famous for off-color humor aimed particularly at a late-night audience. One such entertainer actually wrote a children's book, which seems very odd to me. The psalmist wrote, "... with flattering lips and a double heart they speak." (Psalm 12:2) The Hebrew word for heart refers to the "center" of one's being. A “double heart” -- two centers – how can that be? Is there no shame in how we build-up and tear-down with the same lips, and sometimes in the same breath! “From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.” (James 3:10). Believer, beware of entanglements! I encourage you to begin each day with earnest prayer that “the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord." (Psalm 19:14). It's really the only way to live … tangle-free