Guest Devotional- Alexis Albright

Women typically have an advantage over men when it comes to our ability to communicate. We connect by talking and sharing our detailed stories. But with this verbal gift comes a huge responsibility—one that is controlled by one simple muscle in the body, unmatched in its potential for good or evil—the tongue.

One characteristic of a mature Christian is shown in her ability to control her tongue. Luke 6:45 says, “For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” Wow! Our hearts cannot be hidden because our speech reveals us.

James 3:3-6 says, “When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.”

The verse just before this passage, in James 3:2 says, “We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.” This reminds us that we are all human and we mess up. Thankfully, God’s grace is enough for me. And His blood was shed to cover all my sin.

But let us never take lightly the impact we have with our tongue. Let’s always consider what we are about to say before we speak it. We have a tremendous ability to change lives with what we say and how we communicate the truth. James 3:9 says, “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness.”

What if we used this powerful muscle to only speak words of truth and words that were uplifting to one another, to His creations? So with this, the prayer of my heart comes from Psalm 19:14,

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.”