#ThinkingTuesday – Change your thinking; Change your life.

Hello guys, hope this post meets you well. Always remember that God is working out His eternal Hope of Glory in your life! Today begins the new #ThinkingTuesday series on educated fools.

An educated fool is a person that is filled with knowledge but is lacking in “common sense” 

— Urban Dictionary.

I want to borrow this wonderful illustration in today’s open heaven devotional by Pastor E.A Adeboye:

A doctor was once asked why he continues to smoke, while knowing fully well that it is bad for his health. he answered: “We are all going to die some day, some will die by bullets or by accidents but I have chosen to die from smoking.” 

As christians, God is always seeking that we move ahead in His kingdom. In order to do that we must let go of some earthly and some spiritually negative things. It may be people or habits God is pulling us away from or God seeks that we do more of a certain thing → fasting, bible study or prayers ← but we refuse because we “feel” what God has asked of us is just too much or too difficult.

When we know something is not good for us but inadvertently choose to continue in it, we become educated fools, just like the doctor. By continuing in our sin, we have chosen the harbinger of our death (Romans 6:23).

In this series I will go through examples of christians who have knowledge of their mistakes but choose to continue in their sin. This address is not to those who are ignorant or unaware but to those who have been told countless of times that a certain something is wrong but they are still being strong headed about giving it up.

1. The Foul Mouthed Fellow.

When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear and understand: “Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.” 

— Matthew 15:10 – 11.

There are so many christians God is calling away from profane speech. If you know this is you, please take a look at this verse:

Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.

— James 3:9 -10 (NKJV)

(The verses have been rearranged for emphasis).

Listen, a foul tongue defiles a person. As a christian, if you are foul mouthed, when you pray, your prayer will be foul smelling (even if you don’t use profane words in prayer). Remember that the offering of Cain was foul and unacceptable before the Lord and Matthew 15:11 says it is what comes out of a man that defiles him! When you speak profane words all day and you go to God in prayer, it will be a huge struggle not to use those same words in conversation with God your heavenly father. If you are the kind that swears at your earthly parents, you need to stop that childish rubbish right away. 

If you have given your life to christ and have been made a new creation, you must put off this old nature because it is now at war with who God is calling you to be. Please don’t use cuss/swear words just to fit in. It actually goes beyond saying them in public to fit in, do you say them in private? Do you think them also? Are your thoughts full of profanity and swearing? If you are able to control what you speak, take a step further and control what you think and you’ll see a difference.

While struggling with a profane tongue and even now, atimes I fear that a great burst of anger may cause bad language to slip out of me every now and then but only God knows! I kept trying to listen to gospel music, I noticed that it didn’t quite sit right in my spirit and many times the devil would try to twist the lyrics of what I was singing. I could be singing “Oceans” by Hillsong United and say “Your sovereign Hell (Hand) will be my guide” Matter of fact I think this nearly happened last night but I often catch the devil real quick now.

Romans 3:13-18 (NASB)

“THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,”

“THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS”;

“WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS”

“THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD, DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS,

AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN.”

“THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.”

Look how horribly it describes profanity. They have no fear of God, those whose lips are full of cursing and bitterness don’t know the path of peace and are quick to shed blood and bring destruction, is this not true of many gangsters and celebrities that have profane words in their music? They are always going to jail or facing charges in court. What will it cost you to stop using swear words? Nothing. So why haven’t you stopped using them? I notice that some christians think it’s acceptable to tweet swear/cuss words in abbreviation. e.g. “foh”. Dear christian, when you do this or even when you tweet cuss/swear words in full, if it doesn’t affect you spiritually, it may affect someone else who follows you or reads your tweets — Have you thought about that?

— Ephesians 4:29. (AMP)

We must always be conscious of the words we speak. It is not just in the cuss or swear words alone, profanity goes far beyond that. If something is worthless and unedifying, why say it? — this is something I am seriously learning everyday, I’m usually one to be very direct, if you’ve ever seen my ask.fm you’ll know this is quite true, I can be quite rash and although it is not something I am very proud of, I can tell you here because I know God is working on my stubborness. There’s a particular saying my mum tells me all the time and I try to bear it in mind whenever I am in conversation with others, “It is not everything you see, you must say.” If the words you speak to others do not edify them, then they are worthless and worthless talk is part of profanity. In counsel or comfort when others bring problems to us, as christians let’s be careful not to throw them under the bus before we actually offer sound advice, let’s be careful in the way we address issues. It is important to say things that will aid a person’s spiritual progress. Sometimes harsh words are needed to warn people who are unruly but many atimes we speak out of turn. Always make sure that the words you speak are right for the occasion.

Don’t be a foul mouthed fool, there’s nothing attractive about it. Listen to God and desist from profanity in your thinking and in your speech.

Next week, we will be looking at → The Deaf Eared Delinquent.

Selah!