Paul Tripp also spoke at the Desiring God conference. One of his main points was that your words are really a reflection of your heart. He said that when you say something you regret, people often try and recover by saying, "I didn't mean to say that." However, if words are just a reflection of our evil hearts, then what we are really saying is, "Please forgive me for saying what I meant." Ouch.
And another one, if you listened to your words in the last month, would your words reflect the Kingdom of God or the kingdom of self - where people are just vehicles to do my bidding or obstacles in the way of getting what I want? I'm cringing just thinking about the possibility of hearing everything I spoke in the last month.
Tripp said that when you see problems as caused by your circumstances, then you stop seeking God's grace to change you. You need to realize that I am my greatest communication problem.
And boy do I need to keep working on that one. Sinclair Ferguson also talked about mastery of the tongue. He said for those who speak too much, one needs to be appropriately silent. But it's not enough simply to be silent. For those who are naturally not inclined to speak much, one needs to speak appropriately - words of grace.
Praise God that my salvation will never depend on my ability to master my tongue. But by God's infinite grace, He will change my heart and my words.
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