Struggle & Triumph: Taming the TongueMostra

Repenting and Restarting

Yesterday we read how profanity affected Damien. Coach Barnes was thankful Damien had the courage to confront him.

We can be even more grateful that the Lord pursues and convicts us of sinful actions. As Romans 2:4 reminds us, it’s God’s kindness and patience that leads us to return and walk upright with him.

Once we become aware of our folly, we can see our mouths are just an overflow of what is in our hearts. Any garbage exiting our lips is only there because it is already inside us (Matthew 12:34-37) because cussing is not the real problem. It’s merely the symptom of a deeper issue—a heart that is drifting from God.

It’s so easy to push Jesus off the throne of our life and crawl up onto that throne so we can be in charge. At some point, we stop saying, “Jesus, take the wheel” and become convinced we can do a better job. We stop listening to him.

But a contrite heart allows Christ to sit in his rightful place. When we return to sitting at his feet, then the throne of our life can be his again.

This gave Coach Barnes a new determination to bless his team with words of affirmation because Proverbs 10:21 says, “The lips of the righteous nourish many. …” Now he could be the man of God the creator wanted him to be. God had placed Barnes in this position to be a man of influence, pointing others to Christ when the opportunity presented itself.

Barnes says, “Am I still tough on my players? Of course, I have to be at times. If they are not living up to their potential, I push my guys and demand they do their best. But I no longer use profanity to get my point across. These men are made in the image of God, and I value each of them.”

Now, what if you have never cursed and aren't tempted in that area? We must also look beyond cursing to more subtle statements. Other negative words, tone, and attitudes can bring just as much harm as profanity. Degrading comments, gossip, coarse joking, and more—they are all dishonoring. Anything that demeans others and causes them to feel pain does not glorify God.

Sin is sneaky, so we must look further to weed out anything hypocritical that ruins our testimony.

Ask God to search your heart today and reveal things you say that might be hurtful to others. Ask God to change you, transforming your speech into a wellspring of encouragement, life-giving hope, and blessing.