“The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.” -Luke 6:45

I hope that my heart is not only filled with the evil things that come out of my mouth all too often.

“But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.” -Matthew 15:18-20

I am defiled by the words which I speak.

“The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
And his tongue speaks justice.
The law of his God is in his heart;
His steps do not slip.” -Psalm 37:30-31

If I am righteous, then wisdom and justice will be in my words. They will come from God, who fills my heart, and I will be secure in this world and the next.

“I will bless the LORD at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul will make its boast in the LORD;
The humble will hear it and rejoice.” -Psalm 34:1-2

Righteous words and praise will edify those around me, mind and spirit.

I said, ‘I will guard my ways
That I may not sin with my tongue;
I will guard my mouth as with a muzzle
While the wicked are in my presence.’" -Psalm 39:1

If others who do not know or follow Christ hear me swearing, lying, or speaking evil, I lead them down the wrong path, rather than being a beacon to them.

I’ve decided that I swear too much; any swearing at all is too much. Most of my Christian friends (hopefully) have never heard me swear, but around some of the people I work with I have the habit all to often of following their patterns of speech rather than setting an example. More than swearing, I join in too often to conversations about things that shouldn’t even be in my mind. No excuses. It shouldn’t matter who I’m with or what they think is acceptable; God is with me all the time and everything I say (or think) reaches His ears. So my resolution is that if I don’t have any edifying wisdom or praise, I should just shut up.