Most of the time when I get in trouble, it's something I said, not something I did. I like to say it's because the filter between my brain and my mouth doesn't always catch everything, but that's a bad excuse for a Christian. As a Jesus-follower, my brain shouldn't think those things.
Paul wrote this to the church in Ephesus (Eph4:29): "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." A few verses later he gives a specific list of this that I should put into words: bitterness, rage, anger, slander, brawling, malice, obscenity, foolish talk, coarse joking.
Instead, he says, I am to use my mouth to build others up. I should used it for thanksgiving, to sing psalm and songs from the Spirit, to make music from my heart to the Lord.
If I were doing the second list, maybe I wouldn't be inclined to think the thoughts that make my words bitter or malicious or foolish or coarse. If I were encouraging others and praising God as much as I should be, I wouldn't have time to do damage with my mouth.
In the end, I guess, the problem isn't my mouth or my brain. It's my heart.
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