THE MORE I THOUGHT ABOUT IT
Psalms 39:1-3 NLT
I said to myself, “I will watch what I do
and not sin in what I say.
I will hold my tongue
when the ungodly are around me.”
But as I stood there in silence—
not even speaking of good things—
the turmoil within me grew worse.
The more I thought about it,
the hotter I got,
igniting a fire of words:
David is the author of this psalm. He has some good advice on how not to sin, particularly with our words. And what causes a torrent of words to come out.
The psalm starts with some good counsel. Watching our actions and not sinning with our words when around people who are ungodly. That is such good wisdom. When we are around people who love the Lord and love His Word and ways, speaking the right thing is not difficult. Although I must admit, when I get around people, sometimes their words slip, and immediately they apologize to me. Although I appreciate the courtesy, it’s the Lord they need to address. But when around people who have no regard for God, the tendency is to either go along or blast them in judgment. David saw the wisdom in being very aware of his words.
David stood there in silence, not even speaking good things, but he was starting to feel conflicted. The next phrase is a key to guarding our words. “The more I thought about it, the hotter I got.” And the hotter David got, the harder it became to control his tongue. Until finally he erupted in a “fire of words.” David’s words were a product of him meditating on the situation, and the more he gave intentional thought, the madder he became.
I have seen this too many times in my life and in others. We are fine and quiet until we start meditating and thinking about it and getting hotter and hotter. I have met with people in my office in order to discuss difficult situations. Things are peaceful, and when they left, I thought, “Well, that went okay”. Until... Until they left the office and began to think about it. And the thoughts were not good; they were meditating on negatives. And the more they mused, the hotter they became until out came inappropriate words. Not foul language, but negative, angry words, resulting in them being back in my office. So I have learned to wait a bit to see how things settle before determining the outcome of a meeting.
The best way to control our words is to control our thoughts. Not the random thoughts that flit in and fly out, but the ones we hold onto and run over and over in our minds. This is another good reason to learn to replace thoughts with God’s Word, and if we are going to meditate on anything, choose to meditate on what is noble, true, excellent, and worthy of praise. When we focus on those things, the fire does not burn hot, and the words that come out of our mouths are not toxic. They are words that build up and minister grace to the hearers. Those aren’t my ideas; those are the inspired words of Paul in Philippians 4:8 and Ephesians 4:29. Words matter. Thoughts matter. The more we think about God’s things, right thoughts, we are better, and our words are better.
PRAYER
Lord, help me to guard my ways and my mouth. Help me to think in line with You and the guidelines of Your words. May the only fire burning in me be a desire for more of You.