Isn't it amazing how powerful the tongue is? Many times, we allow our tongues to become little dictators, eating for taste only without considering whether the food is good for our whole body or not.
Yet, it is possible to find a "health sweet spot" - foods that not only taste good to you, but are also good for you. In that way, your whole body is satisfied, not just your tongue!
The following is a devotion I wrote to help you be more discerning
about what enters your mouth and what exits your mouth. It is included in my best-selling book, The Weight Loss Scriptures: The 30-Day Daily Devotional for Weight Loss Motivation.
Today's Focus Scripture
Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, To practice wicked works With men who work iniquity;
And do not let me eat of their delicacies. (Psalm 141:3-4).
When I first read this scripture, I chuckled because I thought that this could be a dieter's
prayer! Not "dieter" in terms of deprivation, but referring to one who wants to be discerning about what passes through the doors of her lips.
I am not sure if David was speaking about discernment concerning the things entering his mouth through the foods he ate or things exiting his mouth through the words he said.
While the scripture could apply to both, I think he was speaking more about the things exiting his mouth.
In Matthew 15:11, Jesus said to the Pharisees who were offended because his disciples did not wash
their hands before they ate bread, "...Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man."
Jesus was saying that what you eat does not make you dirty or unclean spiritually, but that which comes out of your mouth. What you speak reveals what is going on in your heart. As the
scripture says, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34).
While being discerning about the words you speak is priority, I believe you must set a guard regarding the foods you eat as well because they affect you physically.
For example, if there are certain foods that you eat that sap you of energy, then you have to decide if you need to guard against them entering your mouth regularly.
If you fail to set a guard over your mouth, then you are choosing to allow these foods to rob you of energy, which leads to living a low energy life.
So if you are
having trouble with deceptive foods entering your mouth or destructive words exiting your mouth, then know that through today's scripture you can ask God for empowerment to handle both for His glory!
Be blessed in Health, Healing, and Wholeness,