TLIC FAMILY. PROVERBS. JUNE 1: MOUTH.

TLICfamily

Jun 1

THINK TOGETHER.

Do you talk too much?

READ TOGETHER

Proverbs 13:3. Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.

The person who controls their mouth can control their whole life. That is what Solomon wants his children to know. Do you know this? I hope so.

One of the signs that you're growing up is being able to control what you say. To think before you speak. The immature or foolish person talks without a filter over their lips. They gossip, insult, curse, or make promises that they can't keep. Or sometimes people simply talk too much. What they are saying might be true and good, but they take over every conversation and never let anyone else get a turn to answer. Nobody likes people who talk all the time.

Solomon says that people who can't control their mouth come to ruin. They often destroy their own life. They ruin their friendships and hurt their families. This is why, in the New Testament, James tells us to listen way more than we talk. He says, "Be quick to listen and slow to speak." Jesus tells us to never speak out of our anger. He says that the person who insults others will be in danger of judgment from God.

We know that the only way to avoid judgment from God for our sins is to place our trust in Jesus as our savior, the one who died for us on the cross and then rose again from the grave to offer us forgiveness and a new life. A life where we are now able to learn how to control what we say. Why? Because when we no longer have to prove ourselves to God, then we no longer have to prove ourselves to others, which means we can be quiet and guard our mouth instead.

Because of Jesus we don't have to fear coming to ruin (destruction).

With Jesus we can guard our mouths and stop talking so much.

DO SOMETHING TOGETHER

Illustrate the importance of guarding our mouths with a tube of toothpaste. Squeeze some toothpaste out. Talk about how once that toothpaste comes out you can never get it back inside the tube. Our words are the same way.

PRAY TOGETHER

Jesus, help me to always be careful about what I say. I know I don't have to prove how smart or cool I am by what I say. May I always be honest and helpful with my words too. Amen.

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