Loving Conversations

"...that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in Heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."  (Philippians 2:10-11 NIV)

The tongue is such a powerful part of our body, that we sometimes have such a hard time controlling it. Have you ever said something that you regretted later? Have you ever "stuck your foot in your mouth"? We all have. That is part of our fallen nature.

But God has called us to a higher standard! We are the salt of the earth. We are the light to a dark world. How can we be effectively impacting our culture for Christ, if we are always offending those around us? The answer is that we can't!

I'm not saying we have to be passive, never speaking our opinion. As a matter of record, I believe we have far more we need to be expressing so that the Word of God is proclaimed! What I am saying is that we must flavor the world we live in with kindness and compassion. We must exemplify the love of Christ to a dying world and we can't do that with tongues that destroy! Oh, how we need to use our tongues in a way that glorifies Christ!

I have said this before, but perhaps I am supposed to say it again, as a Christian, you and I do not have a right to be rude with our mouths! We just don't. Yes, we can defend ourselves. No, we don't have to allow someone to cheat us. But, when we are in a conversation, everything that comes out of our mouth should be seasoned with love!

One day, perhaps very soon, our tongues will be used to identify our Savior! (Actually we are called to do that today. One day we'll be forced too!) Shouldn't we be preparing and conditioning that tongue today!