Jump Start # 1218

Psalms 141:3 “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.”

What a beautiful thought and prayer from our passage today. The Psalmist is asking God for help. He’s wanting God to guard his mouth and keep watch over his lips. That would be an amazing prayer for us each day. It’s our mouths that get us in trouble so often. We talk too much. We speak without thinking. We talk when mad. We talk before we have heard things out. We say things that we shouldn’t say. We have trouble keeping secrets. When we ought to say something, we don’t. When we ought to be quiet, we feel compelled to speak.

I especially like the expression “the door of my lips.” Doors, I’ve seen a lot of them. The Bible speaks often of doors. The door to the ark was closed by God and that separated the saved from the lost. In the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, the door was shut when the groom arrived. The foolish virgins showed up too late. They knocked on the door but were not allowed in. The homosexual crowd pounded on Lot’s doors, wanting him to let them have their way with the visitors he housed. They were drunk with lust and sin. Then there is that wonderful door in Heaven. John sees that door opened in Revelation 4 and we are allowed a peak into what God’s home looks like.

A door with a closed sign on it means you can’t get in. A locked door means no one gets in. But an open door, invites and allows us to come in. Wooden doors, metal doors, ornate doors, plain doors, glass doors, ugly doors, old doors-they all serve the same purpose-keeping things in and things out. The door is what separates the ins from the outs.

Our lips operate like a door. With closed lips, we cannot speak, eat or smile. But open that door and all kinds of things happen. There are times to keep the doors of our lips closed. Some things just do not need to be said. Not every opinion must be expressed. Not everything is our business. Not every wrong must be pointed out by us. We are not Heaven’s police. Certainly we want to help folks. Certainly we want righteousness to prevail. But if we got on ourselves as often as we did others, we’d be miserable.

Have you seen the smile upon grandparents faces when that little grandchild rushes up to them in open arms? The door of their lips open wide to love, joy and happiness. The same happens when friends connect at church services. There are hugs, smiles and warm words of love and appreciation. The doors to our lips are open at such occasions.

The Psalmist was inviting God to watch over those doors to his lips. He was inviting help. He knew that he often needed help. With God watching, when he opened those doors would be an appropriate time. He was careful. He now had God’s help.

We have the same. We have God’s help. It comes through what we’ve learned in Scriptures. It comes by asking God to help us. It comes when our conscience reminds us that we probably shouldn’t say anything. It comes when we think carefully what to say to others.

Telling someone that you disagree with that they are going to roast in Hell isn’t a great evangelistic move. You won’t find many articles commending that method. Putting yourself in the shoes of someone who was just told that, you get defensive, argumentative, and fed up with judgmental attitudes. The Hell business is God’s business, not ours. Ours is to tell the good news of the Gospel. Ours is to teach Christ. Watch over those doors.

In James we are told to be slow to speak and quick to hear. We get that backwards many times. Watch that door of your lips is what James is telling us.

How about working on that today. View your mouth as a door. Open it to invite, encourage and help others. Open it to share smiles and wonderful news. Close it when you feel like complaining. Lock it when you feel like saying something hurtful or wrong. You are the doorman. You operate this door.

Help us, Lord.

Roger