If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth.
Oh how many times the hand of my mom or dad came around the back of my neck to cover the words I was in mid-stream of saying or about to say. Do you remember those days? Think of how every time you had a cold or cough and people would tell you, "Cover your mouth!" You would have been coughing for days, hour upon hour and sometimes forget but Praise the Lord there were always those germ police to enforce the law. (I'm joking, it was for a great benefit)Let's read our scripture again this morning. It says if we have done foolishly by boasting or lifting ourselves up then to put our hand over our mouths. This simple means to stop. Stop lifting up ourselves. Stop the pride and arrogance of praising our works. As Christians we should understand that there is nothing that we can do apart from Christ who dwells in us. People used to say to me, "Be careful up there on that high-horse, it's a nasty fall from that height." What could we actually boast of that we do? Think of it like this... I love to build with lumber. I love the design, cutting, fabricating of it all. I love to stand back and know that I have been able to do something like that, but I can't take the credit. God, who loves me so, taught me and gave me the strength and ability to do these things. It is the Lord who receives all credit.
Also our scripture says something that really speaks to me. If we have an evil thought, put our hands over our mouths. Hahahaha, don't you love the way God is so plain in His wisdom that He speaks to us? Some think that in order to understand the scriptures we need a PHD or high education. No, it is simple. It's always and only understood through the Spirit of the Lord.
God is telling us that it is best to walk around with your mouth covered than to spew out the contagious, evil bitterness and pride. I would love to see Christians put their hands over their mouths before they pass it along. Let's learn a lesson from God today and "Cover Our Mouth".
