"...out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 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 12:34-37
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"...on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak... for by your words you will be condemned."
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I don't know about you, but that's terrifying.
Horrifying.
And it should be.
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One day, friend, after you've left this world behind, you are going to stand--if you're even able to--before God-- holy, righteous, pure, blameless, just, jealous, perfect, mighty God.
And you're going to give an account for every careless word you've ever spoken.
Before a holy, righteous, perfect God-- who knows everything you've done, in public and in secret... every word you've spoken... every thought that's crossed your mind...
Every
careless
word.
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Little sobering, isn't it?
A lot sobering.
It should make your knees knock and your spine shiver.
It should make you reevaluate yourself, your habits, your lifestyle...
And it should cause you to change.
Drastically change.
Leave all that's dead and broken and evil and dirty and sinful behind you.
Leave it.
Let go of it.
Let
go.
You must.
You need to.
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Have you forgotten who you're living for?
You're not living for yourself--you're not supposed to be, anyway!
You're not living for other people--and/or their approval.
That's not why or how you were made.
That's not your purpose.
That's not the point.
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You are to be living for Him.
For God.
For God and His glory.
And for God and His glory ALONE.
For God and His glory COMPLETELY.
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I don't think you understand.
(Don’t worry (too much)-- by the way I live and think, it would certainly seem that I don’t completely understand either.)
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By saying "you're not here to live for other people and their approval or lack thereof," I do NOT mean:
1. "So Grandma says your shorts are too short and your shirt's too low-- eh, whatever! You're not living for her approval. Wear whatever you want."
--You're living for HIS. Dress like it. Honor Him in how you dress.
--MODESTY.
--You're not dressing--not to be dressing--for yourself or others, but for Him. Thus, honor your own body-- clothe it appropriately. And dress to honor Him. Dress to bring glory to Him, not glory to yourself or to the body He gave to you. It's not your body. It doesn't belong to you. It's His.
--Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. It is God’s temple. It is NOT YOURS. Do what is holy with your body and how you present it.
2. "So your pastor preached a sermon on the sin of profanity and that you need to stop swearing-- eh, whatever! You're not living for his approval. Say whatever you want."
--You're living for HIS. Talk like it. Honor Him in how you speak.
--EVERY. CARELESS. WORD. Every careless word. Do you get what this means?? God is a holy God! He has specifically commanded us not to use vulgar (or careless..) language! Stop swearing! Stop taking His name in vain! Stop profaning it! God is a HOLY God! STOP!
--Watch how you talk and communicate-- not just swearing, but everything else, too. Let your words be gracious, kind... words that build up instead of tear down. Honor God in how you talk to those made in His image.
--This includes gossip. Honor God **completely** in how you speak. Tarnishing someone’s reputation behind their back, poking fun, publicly discussing their faults or shortcomings or qualities you don’t like… they have been made in the image of God, and so have you. Be kind and respectful to and about them, and honor yourself and God in the words you say. Let your words be kind, compassionate, encouraging, gracious. Let them be a testament and a testimony. You’re not speaking for yourself or for others-- you’re to be speaking for God and for His glory. Make sure you truly are.
3. "So your dad reminded you not to listen to that music with all the profanity and raciness... and not to look at all that suggestive stuff online... and not to watch those gory, racy, profane movies you like-- eh, whatever! You're not living for his approval. Consume whatever media you want."
--You're living for HIS. Fill your mind like it. Honor Him in what media you consume-- music, movies, Internet habits, etc. Honor Him in what you listen to, watch, look at, think about, and dwell on.
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In short, friend, don’t live for yourself.
Stop living for yourself.
Live for Christ.
Fully.
Wholeheartedly.
Sincerely.
ONLY.
Doing so is a constant battle, a daily one, one that is not easily fought or even conquered. But no matter how hard it is, don’t stop fighting. Don’t stop striving, every day, every hour, every minute, every second, and the spaces between the seconds too-- don’t stop striving to be more like Christ and less like yourself and this sinful world we live in.
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Remember, friend, one day you’re going to give an account for EVERY CARELESS WORD you’ve spoken. You’re going to stand before a holy, mighty God who knows everything you’ve ever done or said.
Knowing that should radically change how you live your life in the present.
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It’s a high call, friend.
A serious one.
An important one.
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Answer it.
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Live completely for Christ.
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“In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.” ~Romans 6:11-14
