Dirty Mouth?

"I have resolved that my mouth will not sin. 
Psalm 17:3c

Okay, it is time to get personal. I don't talk about sin very much. It seems to me that we all know we have issues and we are all doing our best to deal with them through the grace of God. But I think this one should be talked about. You see, the old dirty mouth gets us in trouble more than anything else.
    I have learned the importance of words. My words can be powerful, life-giving things, or they can be horribly destructive and dishonoring to God. This is not just about swearing. I have little issue with that. This has to do with the things I say to people, the tone of my voice, the intent of my heart. The apostle James said, "Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be."  How true is that? And yet, even though I know the truth, I continue to wrestle with taming my tongue.
    I doubt that I am the only one who has these issues. When you examine the things you say and put them to the test, what is the verdict? It is sobering to realize that we will give an account for every word we speak, not before men, but before God himself. What we say is incredibly important. 
    So, what is the answer? 'Think before you speak' comes to mind as a potential for success. Resolve to not allow your mouth to sin. Let's use our mouths to bless and not curse. Let's create good things with our words, not destroy. We should use our mouths to pray and not complain. Jesus said, "When you pray, SAY..." He said this to introduce the Lord's prayer. We are not to think it, we are to speak it out.
    If we will allow the Holy Spirit to guide the things we say, we will speak blessings. Would you curse, complain, belittle, or mock, if you were standing at the throne of Jesus? I don't think so. We are in the presence of the King all the time, because he lives in us through the person of the Holy Spirit. So, if you have a dirty mouth, clean it up! All we have to do is apply the grace of Jesus to our tongues, and remember that he is listening. There is no excuse for a dirty mouth.