Rev. Katie Montgomery Mears, Director of Adult Ministries and Pastor of Contemporary Worship

Proverbs 10:11 (CEB)
The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

Reflection:
Against the manufacturer’s warning, our dryer is stacked on top of our washer. This generally doesn’t pose any issues, except when I am leaning down to pull stuff out of the washer, and I have forgotten to close the dryer door and it’s just swinging above me. I accidentally did that yesterday, and when I stood up, I banged my head into the dryer door and let two things fly—the armful of wet clothes from the washer and a four-letter-word. 

Unfortunately, Mary Holland, my 3-year-old, was standing right next to me. The first thing out of her mouth was, “are you okay, Mommy?” The second was, “what is – – – -?” 

Yikes. 

I read a parenting book recently that said if you’re carrying a cup of water and you shake it and water splashes out, that makes sense. But if you’re carrying a cup of milk, you could shake and shake and shake it and you would never get water to come out. That’s because the only thing that can come out is what is already inside. Our mouths are simply a peek inside of our hearts.  

As the proverb says, our attitudes, actions, and speech either come from a fountain of life or from violence. Here’s the thing: changing what we say is not just about taming our tongues. It’s not as easy as snapping your fingers, but with a little bit of self-control, anyone can limit what they say.  

The harder task is to change our hearts so that there is no well of violence from which to speak or act.  When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, what pours out of our mouths is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. 

How do you get there? Well, how do you start your day?  Do you start with prayer or devotional reading?  Or do you start with Instagram and CNN?  

Do you spend time with people that look for the good, say kind things, and try to solve problems?  Or does your crowd gossip, complain, and place blame? 

Do you express gratitude to God for what you have?  Or wish for things you don’t have? 

I don’t want to curse in front of my child, but more than that, I don’t want anything to come out of my mouth that doesn’t honor God. I know that means I need to spend less time watching cable TV and more time talking to Jesus. What does it mean for you?

Prayer:
Gracious God, I want my words to honor you and to build up the folks around me. Help me to turn my attention away from competition, anger, and resentment so that I am not consumed by those things. Help me to turn to you and become a vessel of your love, grace, patience, and kindness so that others will know you through me. Amen.