Profanity is not a problem with your mouth!

Many of us have battled with profanity to some degree or another. There are even acceptable versions of profanity heard in churches of all colors. On the street someone may say ‘Oh shit’ but around home or at church it sound like ‘Oh crap’ , ‘Oh poo’ or maybe even ‘PICKLES”. The illustrations could go on and on but you can see what I mean if you are interested.

Many of us have tried to overcome this habit with the acceptable curses, but that does not eliminate the problem. The problem is much deeper than my mouth. In Luke 6:45 Jesus says;

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth the good. And an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth the evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

What comes out of my mouth comes straight from my heart. It is also true for you. I can say, “But I was only joking.” But what Jesus says is different. “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” So here is the problem. My heart… your heart.

So much of the business of following Jesus is wrapped up in our heart. Lately as I read God’s Word “heart” seems to jump out at me and when I see it I come to a stop to see how it applies. One precious brother said, “My heart is that place where I like it.” My heart is the place where I have a taste for a thing. Whether it is ice cream, the Word of God, puppies or profanity. If I can admit this then I can truly go to work on the problem.

Do I trust God in all things? Do I believe in the deepest part of my heart that He is loving and caring for me? If that is true of me then when something happens that is a difficulty for me the response from my heart will be one of praise to God. And that is what will come out of my mouth. Yours as well!

When you hear profanity coming out of your mouth think about this. What is in my heart that such things come out of my mouth?

On our way to Arizona we stopped at Boron California and saw the 20 Mule Team Museum. Older readers will remember the TV show about the 20 Mule Team. There really was a time when teams of 20 mules would go into the mountains of Southern California to haul out the Boron from the mines. 10 pair of mules were harnessed to a chain that pulled the wagons to and from the mines. The mule skinner or driver sat on the last mule on the left with 1 rope leading up to the first mule on the left and this with his voice commands is how he controlled the mules. In the same way the reins for our tongue are way down in our heart telling us what to say and how to speak.

Think about it.

Authority, Who is in charge here

In Matthew 28, Jesus says, “All authority is given unto me…”

Why was all authority given to Jesus?

Most of you will probably say, “Because he was the Son of God” or “Because he was God.” But is that what the Word of God says?

In Philippians 2:6-10 it says.

Christ was truly God. But he did not try to remain equal with God. Instead he gave up everything and became a slave, when he became like one of us.  Christ was humble. He obeyed God and even died on a cross. Then God gave Christ the highest place and honored his name above all others. So at the name of Jesus everyone will bow down, those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth.

Most people don’t understand this truth. But all people who truly have authority have gained that authority by being under authority. The centurion who met Jesus in Luke 7 and Matthew 9 understood when he said, “Say in a word and my servant will be healed for I also am a man under authority and I say…” He knew that Jesus had authority because he was under authority and recognized that his authority came from submission to authority.

In the book “The Fellowship of the Ring” in the very beginning, where Tolkien is explaining about the rings, he says, “Above all things, men love power.” We would all like very much to be able to speak healing for those we care about and to speak prosperity to the situations that we encounter. Of course we can say the words. But do the words we speak bring about the desired results?

In John 12:49 Jesus says;

For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.

This is a small part of a larger speech that Jesus is making but at the same time I believe it can stand alone to show us the principal of where Jesus got his authority.

Therefore If I desire the kind of authority that Jesus speaks of in John 14:10-15, I must learn to submit to his commands the way he submitted to the Father’s.

To believe is to keep his commandments.

It’s something to think about.