The mouth can be something beneficial to us or detrimental. I have grown up learning how to use my mouth for destruction and tearing people down, including myself. I asked Holy Spirit last night what was one thing He didn’t like about me and He responded: your mouth. In all honesty, my mouth is something I don’t like about myself either, so I can see why Holy Spirit doesn’t like it either.       

“And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison… From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.” James 3:6-8, 10

               For one thing, I have struggled to quit cussing my entire walk with Him, mainly because I live with people that cuss all the time. It is hard to remove that from your life when you are around it all the time, but with God, all things are possible. I have learned how to live around a smoker and successfully quit smoking. I have lived around a drinker and successfully not drink. Not that I haven’t had slips here and there, but I pray that these examples are signs that one day, I will stop cussing and not look back.

               Why does one cuss? I believe for me, it’s to get a point across, be more expressive when saying something, or put an exclamation point on how I feel about something. I have also used cussing as a way to express my anger or displeasure strongly. That, however, is not the way God does things and no longer the way I want to do things.

“Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.” Ephesians 4:29 (NLT)

“Obscene stories, foolish talk, and course jokes—These are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God. You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshipping the things of this world.” Ephesians 5:4, 5 (NLT)

There really is no need to cuss or use vulgar language to talk about something or especially someone. I grew up listening to people gossip and slander other people. I in turn learned how to gossip and slander other people too, sometimes to their face, most of the time it was behind their backs. Talking bad about people is costly to the person doing the talking. Eventually, it comes back on them because it’s an open door in the spirit realm. Most people have no idea the headaches they have are because of how they talk about other people. I also grew up hearing people cuss, fight and bicker at one another. They did it because they didn’t know any better and before I met Jesus, neither did I. God loves us where we’re at, but it doesn’t mean He wants us to stay in our old ways.

“A gossip goes around telling secrets, so don’t hang around with chatterers. If you insult your father or mother, your light will be snuffed out in total darkness.” Proverbs 20:19-20

We are supposed to implement God’s word and ways into our daily lives. This is what it means to transform and renew your mind. Without spending time with Holy Spirit and getting into God’s word, a lot of people never change their heart or how they speak about others. How you speak about yourself is also equally important.

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2

If you are hyper critical of other people and impatient, odds are that you are hyper critical about yourself too. Mistakes are a part of life, and no one is immune to making them. However, some people, myself included, are pretty harsh towards themselves when they make mistakes. I am just now learning how to not talk down on myself and not talk down on other people. It has been easier not talking about other people than myself if I’m going to be honest. But God is gracious and He has been working with me about holding my tongue and not saying bad things about myself or anyone and it has been working out in my favor.

“Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Proverbs 18:21 (ESV)

               Positive self-talk and biblical declarations have been a huge help in reshaping my mind. Some of the ways God has shown me help them stick even better is through saying it while I’m working out or fasting, when we are pushing our bodies to the limit and we go into autophagy. Our bodies and our brain absorb it a lot better when the body is in autophagy, which is basically spring cleaning for your cells. Sometimes, this is why God will ask some people to go on an extended fast. It is to help shed the old mindsets and replace them with the new godly mindsets that are in God’s word. Changing our words and our minds can be challenging, but with time they will completely reshape us into a new creation that no longer lives for ourselves, but for God and others.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17