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Day 2: The Mouth

"Avoid all perverse talk, stay away from corrupt speech" Proverbs 4:24

The way of wisdom, Jesus' way, is to avoid perversity and corrupt talk. Of course this means we need to not gossip or use bad language in our lives, but there is more to this verse than just those things.

Moments before exchanging his future for some food, his birthright for some broth, Esau says, "What good is my birthright? I'll die if I don't have some stew!". From a distance and in the cold light of day, we see how ridiculous that statement is.

Have you noticed how the things you tell yourself before your mistakes simply don't add up or make sense afterwards? Therapists call this warped self-talk "cognitive distortion".

Here are some examples:

• Maximising the impact - "I need this", "Nothing else will help me"
• Minimising the implications - "No-one is getting hurt", "It's not as bad as being physically unfaithful"
• Consumed by shame - "There must be something wrong with me", "I'll never change so there's no point trying"
• Fuelled by blame - "If that person gave me more attention then I wouldn't need to do this", "I've had a hard day so this isn't my fault"

Pay attention to what you say, even in your head. These things that we tell ourselves, the corrupt speech patterns that play in our minds and leak from our mouths, reveal the cognitive distortions that so often pre-empt our mistakes.

Someone once said, "Behind every self-defeating act in our lives is a lie we've believed. Either we've lied to ourselves, or we've believed one of Satan's lies." Does this ring true from your experience?

To avoid this warped talk: recognise it, and replace it. Spot the lies you tell yourself, call them out as lies, don't give them weight or worth. Once we recognise that they are lies, we can proactively replace them with God's truth.

Over to you...

1. Many of the lies we tell ourselves stem from painful experiences in our lives, and our emotional responses to them. Take some time to ask God to reveal to you the root experiences that have led to the lies that you are telling yourself.
2. Can you identify when you have believed a lie you have told yourself - perhaps one of the examples above? How have they impacted your behaviour?
3. Dig into your Bible - or search in this app! What does God say about you, your future, and your purpose?
4. How can you remind yourself to replace those lies with God's truths?