One Mouth

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and one mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Romans 15:5-6

One mouth . . . wow, that is hard! How can so many people have the same mouth? We know that’s not a literal statement, but as believers we should speak as one because we are all unified with the purpose of glorifying God.

James 3:9-10 states, “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.”

We can’t praise God and then turn around and tell lies about someone. We can’t lift our hands to a praise chorus and then gossip about someone in the hall. We can’t post a verse on a social networking site and in the next update say something derogatory about another person. This should not be! It is not consistent with the life a believer should be living and is not evidence of having one heart and one mouth.

There is a song that talks about how we can change the world through God’s power. That is so true! If we could only harness God’s power over our tongues, how many might come to know the one and only true, living God? It’s sobering to think that what comes out of our mouths can cause so much division in the body of Christ, but can also bring others to Christ.

If we are women in the Word of God and meditating on those words, it will be hard to dwell on Psalm 71:8, “My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long” and then go out to chat about the neighbor down the street in a degrading manner. If we fill our thoughts with God’s words then our mouths will promote unity. God is glorified when our mouths produce praise and not slander. You’ve heard the saying, “If you talk the talk you should walk the walk.” The reverse is also true: If you are walking the walk, then talk the talk. Make your words consistent with your walk.

Lord, help me to not talk unkindly about anyone, and convict me when I do. Let me be quick to make things right. Don’t let both praising and cursing come from my mouth. Let me be known as a woman whose tongue promotes blessing and unity. In Jesus’ name, amen.