Day Twenty-five

“Put away perversity from your mouth;
keep corrupt talk far from your lips.” (Prov. 4:24)

Scripture Reading: Proverbs 4:24–27; Isaiah 6:5

Like the prophet Isaiah, we live “among a people of unclean lips” (Isa. 6:5). Perverse language and corrupt talk so inundates our culture that we risk growing desensitized. How many times have we turned on the television and been shocked that a certain word was allowed to travel the public airways?

We grow accustomed to hearing one word just in time to hear another. In the name of entertainment, we have slowly and sometimes unknowingly lowered our standards. If we do not take great care to resist, we will likewise become men and women of “unclean lips.”

What we hear has tremendous impact on how we talk. My thick Tex-Arkansan accent is a good example. I can’t cross the Texas border without being asked, “Where in the world are you from?” I had no intention of developing another accent when I moved to Texas, but the more I heard the twang, the more I spoke the language.

Our physical accents are affected by the regions in which we live. Our spiritual accents are also affected by the areas we choose to occupy. God desires and expects both our speech and our figures of speech to glorify Him. As perverse language and corrupt talk increase around us, we must work hard to stay a people of clean lips. The apostle Paul reminds us that “our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20). God wants our speech to give away where we’re from.

We reveal our true home not by religious jargon people can’t understand but by purity of speech—and by pure default! Sometimes simply refusing to talk the way the world talks is a powerful witnessing tool.

Let’s allow God to give us a swig of mouthwash when necessary—like when we’re angry, or when we’re trying to make a powerful point, or even when we’re simply trying to be funny. In Christ, we can find ways to deal with anger, make a point, and enjoy humor without compromising our speech. God can help us to break old habits and form new ones. One way we can do that is to spend time with people who talk with “accents” we admire.

Who are two people whose speech you admire?

What about their manner of speaking impresses you?

What one specific thing could you do to become more like them in your speech?

As each of us raises our own personal standard of expression, it won’t be long until somebody asks us, “Where in the world are you from?”