Above all, my brothers, do not swear – not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, or you will be condemned. James 5:12 NIV

The little guy smarted off. In front of his little brothers, he tried to say things that his mother warned him were not OK to say. She warned him again. But, the boy just couldn´t stop his tongue. Mom had told him that she would wash his mouth out with soap. Now, in desperation, she had to give it a try. The smaller ones watched on in disbelief. She took him to the sink and handed him the bar of soap. He put it in his mouth. The look on his face was enough of a lesson for the younger brothers to learn to hold their tongue. But the bigger boy was still defiant. As his mother rinsed his mouth out, the child nibbled a bit more of the bar of soap and then smiled at his mom. He swallowed it! Her plan had backfired! She took the soap away from him and never tried that method again!

We let a lot of things pour out of our mouths. The words we use show the true leanings of our heart. They show even more than our conscious does, just what is going on inside. What we talk about and the way that we say it also demonstrate whether we tend only towards filth or are worthy offerings to the Righteous God. We can and often do lie to ourselves and say that our intentions are pure. But until the blood of Jesus has had its effect, we are only fooling ourselves. Until we have enough of Christ inside of us, we will never truly be clean. Could we invite Him into our hearts today? Shall we ask Him to wash us until our “Yes” is a yes indeed?

Dear Lord,

Teach us to say Yes, we want You living in us and cleansing us from the heart. Let us live by this Word alone, none other than the Living Word and our desired tie to You, we pray!

Amen