"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer." Psalm 19: 14
The words slipped out of my mouth before my brain comprehended what I had said.
Julie called me out: "I noticed you have been swearing a bit today."
Me: "Really? What'd I say?"
Julie: "Well, you said .... earlier today, and now you just said..."
No reason to repeat those words here!
I love Jesus, but sometimes I swear. I'm not perfect. When I get tired or frustrated and other things crowd God from my focus, some of the behaviors I've worked so hard to correct in my faith walk seep out of the cracks I've tried to seal with my love for Jesus.
God doesn't like swearing; Jesus doesn't like swearing either.
In a moment of venting one day, I let fly a string of cuss words in rapid succession. (Yup - really bad ones; atomic cuss bombs verbally exploded, leaving their toxic residue--even including a few rounds of cuss prefixes interspersed with my discourse). When I was finished I felt purged, relieved– vindicated even! Then, I looked at my colleague, Nathaniel, whose face held an expression of troubled consternation. His eyebrows were up. His mouth, tight-lipped. His head bent forward as if he really wanted to say something but wasn’t quite sure how to let me down easily and instead offered a tolerant nod.
My peace did a quick 180 into guilt and shame.
“What?” I asked, but I didn't need to; the offense I had committed was written on the faces of my colleagues.
At our January women's brunch, we talked about ditching resolutions and establishing good intentions for the coming year. Last year, my word was forgiveness. Last week, I had to pray for forgiveness for the displeasing words that slipped so fluidly from my mouth. I am still living out that intention by continuing to seek forgiveness and forgive others. This week, I'm revisiting my intention for 2023: Focus.
My focus this week is on God, my rock and my redeemer. I didn't break a resolution I didn't establish; instead, I turned my eyes to God and said, "Forgive me."
Swearing is not pleasing to God. Unfortunately, I'm not perfect, but I can be intentional. As I turn my eyes to focus on God this week, I'm intent on choosing words to fulfill God's purpose. When I do devotions in the morning and the evening, I meditate on the biblical verses. Prayer and meditation help me focus on God.
I don't condone swearing, but I'm not perfect...and sometimes I cuss a little. I'm trying to be better.
Whatever word you choose to be intentional about this year, meditate on Psalm 19:14.
Happy new year!
Best,
Michelle
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