my operating table

“Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” - Hebrews 13:15

If praising God comes from the fruit of our lips, shouldn’t we be more careful with the way we use our words? First, we know that every idle word we utter will be used to judge us (Matt. 12:36). We also know that James gave a very stern warning about the way we use our tongues:

“But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.” - James 3:8-10

Today, we need to take a deeper look into the ways we’re claiming to praise God. That’s right, claiming to. You see, when we go to worship on Sundays, we sing praises to our heavenly Father. When we pray to Him throughout the day, we are offering up praises to our Father. And yet, how often do we use that same mouth to bash the way a person beside us was singing, or to spread poison about someone else to a co-worker? We claim that we praise God on a daily basis, but are we really? Is that praise really going anywhere?

We need to examine our hearts, first and foremost, and find out where this “bitter water” is coming from (James 3:11). If we are gossiping about our brother, are we loving him? If we are criticizing the way the elders have chosen to do things at our congregation, are we truly loving them? If we are rude to our spouses, friends, and family members, are we truly loving them? If we turn right around and then sing praises to God, are we truly praising Him? I don’t think we are. 

If you are anything like me, you desperately want to praise our Amazing God. You want to do so at any and every possible moment. If we aren’t careful, the less-focused-on moments in our lives can keep up from truly praising Him. 

Examine the little parts of your life today. Look at every word you say, and think to yourself, “Is that coming from the same mouth that I praise God from?”. If you feel a little uncomfortable thinking that, you probably shouldn’t be saying the things you’re saying. Only when we have eliminated the bad, hurtful things that come from our mouths, will we be able to truly and whole-heartedly praise God. 

“Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.” - Col. 4:6

“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.”
- Psalm 19:14