Guarding Your Thoughts
Today is Memorial Day and our thoughts are for those who have bravely given their lives in defending the freedoms we enjoy. We’ve been talking the last few days about leaning to build bridges for relationships with our words. If you want to be a great communicator, Jesus taught us that you should guard your thoughts. because that’s where it all begins. In the book of Matthew, chapter 12, and in Mark 7, there’s a couple of things about what we think and how that results in what we say…first, Matthew 12:34 (NIV)...”Four out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” Circle the words “heart” and “mouth”. And then Mark 7:15 (TLB)...Your souls aren’t harmed by what you eat, but by what you think and say!” Circle the words “think” and “say”.
Do you see the vicious circle here? How what I say affects what I think and what I think affects what I say..the vicious circle? Think of this circle with me...let me picture it for you: You start with angry words and those angry words result in a wounded soul...and that wounded soul results in a bitter heart...and that bitter heart results in more angry words. And you just can’t seem to get out of this circle where you’re angry, wounded, hurt...and so you say more angry words....it goes around and around and around. It’s a vicious circle, and we’ve all been caught up in those vicious circles that happen with our words. Jesus said, “If you want to have great communication, you’ve got to guard your heart...it’s one of the keys. Jesus said that words are never a slip of the tongue, but an overflow of the heart. He’s saying you may not have wanted to say it, but you felt it or you wouldn’t have said it...that’s what Jesus is saying. And so, communication starts with what you think. And if you guard that, you’ll talk in a better way. Do you ever let your thoughts leak out into your words? You didn’t mean to and you weren’t going to say it, but you got angry or something happened and “boom!”...it just slipped out...we’ve all done that and that’s what Jesus was talking about. In fact, Jesus said it’s inevitable...eventually it’s going to happen. So part of great communication is guarding your heart....telling yourself, “If I think it, I’m eventually going to say it.” For many of us, we’ll never experience a real change in the way we communicate until we have a change of heart...because that’s where it begins…by guarding our hearts! (Tomorrow: Using Your Ears)
posted by Rix Tillman at 5:54 AM
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