We’ve read Psalm 34:11-13, which speaks about the fear of the Lord. It says:
“Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.” (NIV)
Practically speaking, where does the fear of the Lord begin? It is very clear. The psalmist says, "Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies." In other words, the first area of our life in which the fear of the Lord will be practically manifested is our tongue and our lips. If we can keep our tongue from evil and our lips from speaking lies, then we can move on into the fullness of the fear of the Lord.
Then, out of the fear of the Lord comes "life" and "many good days". The fear of the Lord, life, good days, and the proper use and control of our tongue and our lips are all bound together. We cannot really have good lives if we do not control our tongues and our lips. Proverbs 13:3 states:
“He who guards his lips guards his soul, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.” (NIV)
Your soul is your whole personality. It is the real you. This is the area where weakness will be manifested first and where the enemy will gain access first. If you want to guard your soul, you must guard your lips. But if you speak rashly, you will come to ruin. The alternatives are very clear. If you control the tongue, then you have protection; but if your tongue gets out of control and you are not master of your words, then the end is ruin. It is so clear; there are no blurred edges.
The whole book of Proverbs is full of these principles. Consider Proverbs 21:23:
“He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity.” (NIV)
Again, the vital area that you must protect is your mouth and your tongue. Once again, the alternatives are black and white. There is no grey. If you guard your mouth and tongue, then you guard your soul and your life. You are safe. But if you fail to do that, the alternative is calamity. "Calamity" is a very strong word and I believe the Bible uses it deliberately. The failure to guard our lips and our tongues will ultimately bring us to calamity.
Dear Lord, I pray that You would help me to guard my lips, so that my soul will be guarded too. Lord, I don’t want to fall into calamity. I want to have the fullness of life that You provide, and so I pray that You would help me to hold my tongue and be careful in my words. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
