Watching my Words

I am blessed to live in a beautiful area.  We have flowers, trees, a variety of birds, the ocean, some wildlife - every day I see something that reminds me of God's wonderful creation.  Further inland in South Africa, there's lots of different wildlife.  God created such an awesome variety for us!

I am on a "nature whatsapp group" where people share photos and short video clips of these things.  I so enjoy "seeing" through the eyes of others.  Lately, however, a number of things that have been shared turn out to be done by AI.  They aren't real!!  It's so disappointing, and frustrating.  When there's so much real beauty - it doesn't seem necessary to make something up.

It seems like every day there is something in the news about someone getting in trouble for their speech too. I guess we live in a world now where we have to question what we see and hear.  It's made me go to the Word and look again at God's standards for our speech and actions.  Here are just a few of the guidelines He gave us:

"It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person."  Matthew 15:11

"Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble."  Proverbs 21:33

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue."  Proverbs 18:21

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer."  Psalm 19:14

"Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin."  Proverbs 13:3

"I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."  Matthew 12:36,37

"When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent."  Proverbs 10:19

I have a new urgency in my heart to watch my words, and be careful of what I share.....making sure it is true and worthy of sharing.  God made His standards clear in the Word.