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“The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak what is just. The law of their God is in their hearts; their feet do not slip” (Psalm 37:30-31 NIV).

Our modern world has provided each of us with a variety of platforms to communicate and let ourselves be heard. Our age of social media offers an opportunity for us to comment, share, and express our opinions, thoughts, and feelings. That’s not necessarily a good thing. 

Our ease of communication, having a platform to share our thoughts, has not made us better communicators. It certainly hasn’t made us better listeners. Rather, our words often deepen divides between us; they do not often display wisdom or justice.

The psalmist identified a righteous person based upon what comes out of their mouth: wisdom and justice. You can tell a lot about a person by what they say. The psalmist continues that the righteous have God’s law in their hearts. Our words give evidence to what is in our hearts. If God’s law resides in us, then our words will reflect wisdom and justice. If they do not, then people can rightly question what lies in our hearts.

If, however, we hold the law of God in our hearts, we can have the confidence that our steps will not slip. How do we place God’s law in our hearts? By studying it. Thinking about it. Implementing what we have learned. Controlling our words and behaviors.

It doesn’t just happen. It requires conscious effort and discipline. Spiritual growth, like growth in any area of our lives, requires discipline, effort, and choices to obey and follow through, even when we don’t feel like it.  

The Bible connects our relationship with God to our behaviors and our words. They testify to what’s in our hearts; they exhibit whether or not we have internalized His law in our hearts. Living for God means that we choose to bring every word and deed under His rule to reflect wisdom and justice. 

PRAYER

Father, keep our tongue from evil and our lips from speaking guile, and let the words of our mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in Your sight. Amen.