“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”
—Isaiah 6:5
When the prophet Isaiah said he was a man of unclean lips, he wasn’t just talking about a propensity to say a four-letter word now and then. In today’s verse, he tells God he lives among a people of unclean lips and has become one of them. He’s referring to ancient Israel, a nation that had fallen away from God and turned to idol worship and all forms of wickedness. We can infer this included their language. They probably gossiped, slandered, lied, criticized and complained.
How many of us are guilty of the same sins? We often don’t think of them as sins, because we often don’t think before we speak. We figure words can’t truly hurt anyone—but they can and do. Wicked language of any kind also breaks God’s heart and leaves our lips and hearts unclean. Worse, once you form a habit of using unclean lips, it’s difficult to break.
God gives us hope for this issue, though. As soon as Isaiah lamented his unclean lips, God touched his mouth with a burning coal. This allowed Isaiah to speak the words God gave him and worship more effectively.
You don’t need to burn your lips every time you say something you shouldn’t. However, you should confess it to God and ask Him to make your words more gracious and pleasing to Him. You can also practice speaking with clean lips in many ways.
Find at least one positive thing to say to each person you encounter every day.
Begin your prayers by praising God for specific things He has done.
Sing and listen to uplifting songs. Read uplifting texts.
Practice deep breathing and Scripture meditation.
Seek out entertainment that lacks foul language.
Resist the urge to gossip about others.
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