“Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.”
The Tongue
This closes the second movement of this book with Jesus’s own direct correction, worth noticing precisely, not external things entering the mouth, but that which cometh out, worth holding as this whole movement’s own actual, deeper diagnosis, the real problem located specifically in speech, not merely external circumstance.
This is worth examining as this whole movement’s own culminating insight, all this practiced discipline, watching, sparing, hearing before speaking, soft answers, delaying, bridling, refraining, few words, ultimately aimed at this specific, actual location, what genuinely comes out, not what is merely taken in.
This closes the loop this whole second movement has traced. A watch requested, souls kept from troubles, words spared, swift hearing before slow speaking, soft answers, delayed reaction, active bridling, refrained lips, reverent prayer, all of it aimed at this same, actual target, what comes out of the mouth.
As this movement closes, receive Jesus’s own direct correction as this whole movement’s actual summary. The real work was never primarily about controlling external input, but this specific, internal discipline, what genuinely comes out, worth carrying forward into this book’s third movement, exploring what should actually replace it.
Guard Your Words
- Consider today what this movement’s whole discipline has actually been aimed at, specifically.
- Reflect on Jesus’s own correction as this movement’s genuine, culminating insight.
- Carry this whole second movement’s discipline forward into this week’s exploration of tamed, life-giving speech.
Prayer
Lord, it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles, but what comes out. Let this whole movement’s discipline be genuinely aimed there, at what actually, actively comes from me. Amen.
Carry this today
The real work is not controlling external input, but what genuinely comes out of the mouth.