Lord, guard our words today so we may not harm others by what we say.
November 26, 2016
Read: 1 Peter 3:8–12 | Bible in a Year: Ezekiel 27–29; 1 Peter 3
Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. 1 Peter 3:10
Have you ever sent an email and suddenly realized it went to the
wrong person or it contained harmful, harsh words? If only you could
press a key and stop it. Well, now you can. Several companies offer a
feature that gives you a brief time after sending an email to stop it
from leaving your computer. After that, the email is like a spoken word
that cannot be unsaid. Rather than being seen as a cure-all, an “unsend”
feature should remind us that it’s extremely important to guard what we
say.
In the apostle Peter’s first letter, he told the followers of Jesus, “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing. . . . For, ‘whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it’ ” (1 Peter 3:9–11).
The psalmist David wrote, “Set a guard over my mouth, Lord;
keep watch over the door of my lips” (Ps. 141:3). That’s a great prayer
for the beginning of each day and in every situation when we want to
strike back with words.
Lord, guard our words today so we may not harm others by what we say.
In the apostle Peter’s first letter, he told the followers of Jesus, “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing. . . . For, ‘whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it’ ” (1 Peter 3:9–11).
Lord, guard our words today so we may not harm others by what we say.
Father, teach us first to guard our hearts so that we may guard our tongues. And help us, when we do say things we regret, to humbly apologize and seek forgiveness.
The tongue has the power of life and death. Proverbs 18:21
INSIGHT:
The apostle Peter may be one of the last people from whom we
would expect counsel on bridling our tongues. He was the one to chastise
Jesus and claim fidelity even if all others failed, and yet he later
disowned Christ (Matt. 26:33, 69–75). He was the only disciple to resort
to violence (v. 51; John 18:10–11), and yet he encouraged the
mistreated and displaced not to return like for like (see 1 Peter 3:9).
Through the work of the Holy Spirit, Peter finally understood the words
of Jesus in Matthew 5:38–44. Have you wished you could hit rewind and
take back your words or actions? Is it comforting to know that just as
Peter was changed, you too, through the Holy Spirit, can experience
growth and change?
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