The Mouth Trap

Prov 18:7 GNB) When a fool speaks, he is ruining himself; he gets caught in the trap of his own words.

This morning we continue our series entitled, Walking in the Wisdom of God. This message flows in the same vein as the one from yesterday. In yesterday's message I said: "You cannot disassociate yourself from what you say" and

"Don't let your tongue take you where the Holy Spirit won't keep you."

The point being that once we obligate ourselves to something, with our words, then we are obligated, like it or not. This being the case, then it is obvious why the fool would do much better keeping his mouth shut. The more the fool speaks the more he has to live up to and since he does not give thought to what he is saying, he often allows his mouth to trap him in situations that are beyond his ability to fulfill. We have all heard of (or used) a mousetrap. Well, this morning I believe Solomon is warning us from allowing our lips to become our mouth trap!

In Ecclesiastes Solomon said, "It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it" (5:5). In other words, it is much better NOT to obligate yourself to something, than to obligate yourself to it and then not do it. While many do not think much of the obligations they commit themselves to, with their words, God certainly does. God's promises, outlined in the Bible, are simply His words to us.

When God promised to do something for us, He obligated Himself, and He takes it very seriously. To help better understand this let's look at something Moses said. In Number Moses taught us: "God is not a human who lies or a mortal who changes his mind. When he says something, he will do it; when he makes a promise, he will fulfill it" (Num 23:19).
What has God obligated Himself to do? What He said! How did He commit Himself? With Words! Does God consider His words a binding obligation? Absolutely! Understanding this Moses went on to say: "When a man makes a vow to GOD or binds himself by an oath to do something, he must not break his word; he must do exactly what he has said" (Num 30:2).

To further drive home this point let's go to the book of Hebrews. The Hebrew writer said: "Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. God also bound Himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that He would never change His mind. So God has given both His promise and His oath.

These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to Him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us" (6:16-18). The only reason we can have confidence in God is because we truly believe He will do what He SAID He will do. Without confidence in what He SAID, we have nothing to hold on to. And since we are His children, called by His name, He expects us to operate the same way!

So what does this mean ? It means that you must not be like the fool who thoughtlessly commits himself to things he has no way of fulfilling. Don't allow your lips to become a mouth trap. Think things through, prayerfully consider the outcome, be led of God, and then say what you mean and mean what you say! This way both God and man will be able to trust you and your words!

Father, I thank You for this revelation. I understand that You ONLY speak those things that you fully expect to bring to pass and once You speak them you ALWAYS follow through. I am Your child, I am called by Your name, and I am developing Your character daily. As I mature in You I get to the point where I only speak those things that have been birthed out of my prayer life and I ALWAYS back up my words with action. I say what I mean and I mean what I say. My word is my bond. The more I live this way, the more You and others can trust me to be a person of my word. My lips will not be a mouth trap. I will use me lips to carefully commit to those things You want to bring to pass in my life and as I do, I trust that You will fulfill Your promises and manifest Your glory! In Jesus' name. Amen!