Day 17- The Connection between Mouth and Heart

This is a tough truth to accept. We would like to think that when we accidentally say something mean or harsh that it is just a fluke and has no root. Upon further reflection, we will find that it did stem from our heart. Either we have held on to some small offense someone committed that we haven't dealt with, or we have had a bad day and we wanted to make ourselves feel better by making someone else look small, or we only really tolerate the person anyway and wish we didn't have to be nice all the time, and our wish comes true. Here's the interesting part that the book throws in: it's a two-way street. The words we choose to use have a direct impact on our hearts. If we speak negatively, we begin to feel negative. The same is true when we begin to speak positively; we start to feel better! The easiest place I see this truth is with my job. When I'm thinking and talking about all the great things going on, the excitement of a new year, the challenges and all the fun stuff that's going to happen, I feel good! And when I start to complain about all the restrictions and paperwork, the tough situations, the lack of finances, the slow downward spiral of the system as a whole. . . well, you get the point.

So how do we break out of that? We have to realize that, since there is mutual influence between heart and mouth, we must attack on two fronts. We need to seek out the reasons we feel the way we do (which tells us why we say what we say) (WOW that was really hard to type out- left hand ring finger alternating the s and w keys. . . bad situation) and we also need to be careful with our word choice and not just fly off the handle. We try to make up every excuse in the book for rationalizing when we lash out at someone else, but ultimately we are responsible for what we say, and "sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me" is such an untruth that it's not even funny. This chapter gives some strategies to help us keep our cool when we get into an argument (take a few minutes to get away, pray, use ownership statements instead of blame statements, focus on the solution, accept that which is unchangeable, make a point to watch your tone and volume as you speak), but that's not enough. We have to truly change our heart if we are going to change our words. I think the best strategy might be to recognize that God is watching the conversation and seeing arguments and disputes as opportunities to rely on His strength and show His love to the other person.

Point to Ponder: There is a two-way connection between my mouth and my heart.
It's pretty neat to see what happens when we start to watch our words a little more carefully, because then our hearts start to free up, and it's much easier to continue to say things that are encouraging and uplifting rather than spiteful and hurtful. In fact, in some cases it becomes harder and harder to do that.

Verse to Remember: Matthew 4:17- "Change your hearts and lives, because the kingdom of heaven is near."
And remember: heaven is going to be SO MUCH BETTER than life right now. Shouldn't we be getting ready for that???

Question to Consider: Am I caught up in a vicious circle of words with someone? What steps do I need to take to break the pattern?
At the current time, no. Have I been? Of course. The problem comes when you get tired of arguing and you just give up, because then you end up holding some bitterness because you never really came to a solution that both parties were content with.