The Tattletale

If you get rid of the yoke from those around you, the finger-pointing and malicious speaking, and if you offer yourself to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted one, then your light will shine in the darkness, and your night will be like noonday. 

Isaiah 58:9-10

We can help set people free from things that hold them down by speaking words of life, avoiding blame, and offering ourselves to those in need. Scripture is clear that, in order to accomplish our calling, we're to have clean tongues. And since our tongues are the tattletale of our heart, it's important that we go about ministry the right way...from the inside out. We need ministering to before we can minister. We need cleansing and freedom before we can lead others to it.

I love words. But I can make as big a mess as those who struggle to find the next thing to say. I've come to realize that this place of acknowledgement is exactly where we need to be to surrender our mouths- words, tone and all to a holy purpose. I tend to need to surrender my tongue several times a day. I don't have to stop and think because words flow so quickly for me. But that's exactly why my mouth is so dangerous. And that's why God deserves all the glory for any good that comes from this tongue or even these fingers as they type the very words you're reading.

None of us have perfect hearts. Every one of us, no matter how strong our faith, need daily cleansing by our Creator. It's not enough just to keep your mouth shut. For scripture provides us many times when speaking up is absolutely necessary. And since the way we talk is telltale of our hearts, we cannot skip what's inside our own hearts as we we interact with the world. We can try to fake it, but eventually the tongue will win because our tongues are made to have power and that power should be used to bring life, not take it.