Watch Your Mouth

“A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.” (Proverbs 6:12).
Many men don’t see any harm in telling dirty jokes or making risqué comments. Some men even recount off-color stories with ethnic, religious and racist punch lines. Godly men, however, should refrain from having a perverted mouth, because this kind of conversation is found among wicked, naughty men. Is God a “Cosmic Killjoy” then, as Josh McDowell has said some unbelievers view Him? Of course not. God has a great sense of humor- just look in the mirror! God has given man humor and laughter as a release. Medical studies have shown that laughter is beneficial to our bodies: it releases endorphins, lowers blood pressure and stress levels and relaxes the muscular system. God is not anti-humor or laughter, but He is opposed to speech that disparages or humiliates other people. Children are known for honing in on the one quirk that is different in another child and using that trait to ridicule them relentlessly. As godly men, we should set aside our childish antics, worldly humor and blue conversation. We should be exhorters and edifiers, not assassins and terminators. We can use our speech as salve to heal the hurt in men, or we can use our words to cut men to the heart. May sweet water flow from our mouths, not bitter water. Paul exhorts Titus to: “Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.” (Titus 2:8).