To Encourage You

Psalm 109:30 “With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord; I will praise him in the midst of the throng.”

One of the ways I sometimes use (waste) my time is by watching funny YouTube videos.  Do you do this? Some that I find particularly hilarious are when a guy disguises himself as a small tree planted along a busy city street and as people walk by, he moves towards them and scares them half to death (https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=1441214876212340).  Interestingly, one of the things that seems to be an almost universal response to this is a curse word of some type, people taking the name of the Lord in vain.  Isn’t that strange? Why in the world IS this? Why is the most likely response of so many to fear, “the name of the Lord,” but the name of the Lord issued forth as a curse?

Well, it’s my opinion, as I’ve thought about this, that it’s evidence of the sin that lies deep in the human heart. The Bible tells us that the Ten Commandments were given primarily to expose this to us.  As Paul said, “if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’ But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness” (Romans 7:7-8).  Surely the same can be said for the commandment, “You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain” (which is the third commandment), as “you shall not covet,” (which is the tenth). 

Many people have the idea that the Ten Commandments were given to us as a guide for us to know how to please God. They have the idea that if they live a good enough life, one that lines up with the Ten Commandments, then God will be happy to welcome them into heaven someday.  But that’s a false idea.  The very opposite is true. Romans 3:20 says this: “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” Did you hear that? The Law was given to help us to know what sin is.  It exposes it. It shows us the many ways in which we think, speak, and act that don’t line up with the will of God. So, when people curse, they are just doing what comes naturally to them, but what comes naturally to them is the sin that lies deep within their heart. 

Jesus said that it is “out of the abundance of the heart (that the) mouth speaks.” It’s like a glass that is filled to the brim. As soon as you jostle it in some way, what fills the cup will spill out.  That’s exactly what our mouths do for us – they show what’s filling our hearts. 

So, what’s in yours?  And what kinds of things SHOULD fill our hearts? How, exactly, does God say that we SHOULD speak? What kinds of words glorify God rather than sin against Him?

Well, the Bible shows us that too, as in the verse above from Psalm 109. The psalmist tells us that his desire is to “give great thanks to the Lord” with his mouth. He wants to praise Him.  Praise is elicited from a heart filled with gratitude to God. Such a heart looks for ways to express itself.  It has a desire and a determination to do so.  As David proclaimed in another psalm, Psalm 34, “I will bless the Lord AT ALL TIMES; his praise shall CONTINUALLY be in my mouth.”

So, is that your heart’s desire? Is gratitude to God what fills your heart?  Well, if you are wondering, just wait for the next time you are jostled in some way, for it’s at such times that what fills your heart with will most likely spill from our mouth.