Set a guard over my mouth, LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips. – Psalm 141:3

Today's Scripture Reading (July 27, 2022): Psalm 140 & 141

Albert Einstein (1879-1955) once remarked, "Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters" If you are willing to lie about the inconsequential things, then why wouldn't you lie about the more important or essential things? It is a matter of defending our character, and when we have lost everything, and all we have left is our integrity, we don't want to find that our actions have damaged that as well. We need to be careful to be truthful in everything, so that when people need the truth from us, they will be able to accept what we have to say.

David is concerned. To rule, he understands that his people have to be willing to trust him. In the past, there have been moments when the Poet-King has not lived up to that trust. His words and actions have been less than what God required of him. And so he prays, "God, set a guard over my mouth, keep watch over the door of my lips." Make sure that my words are worthy of the God that I serve. David wanted to ensure that the lips with which he praised his God were never used for any other less lofty purpose. Only the truth reflected the character of the God of Israel.

It is something that we need to understand in our own lives. And often, it is not just the lies that pass through our lips that defile us, but also that we often speak too easily. God has made our lips the doors of our mouths. And sometimes, that door should remain closed. I know that some of the worst moments in my life had happened during times when I forgot to close that door. There are times when I have spoken words that I should never have allowed to cross the barrier of my lips. But there have also been times when I have made confessions to people who were not worthy of my trust. It is something that I know is true in my life, and I suspect that you could make the same confession about your life. It is hard, and I sometimes still struggle with it, but we all need to speak less than we do. It is not just lies that hurt us, but the words we know we should never have said.

And so, I need to pray David's prayer. "God, help me to keep my words few. Set a guard over my mouth and keep watch over the doors of my lips so that anything I say might not disqualify me from the task you have set before me. But God, when the time comes for me to be bold with my speech, fill me with your words. And may the times when my words have been few make the words I must speak even more weighty with the truth so that those around me can be saved." 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 143