“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14.

For as long as I can remember, a small figurine adorned my mother’s whatnot shelf. It depicted the “Three Wise Monkeys.” One had hands covering his mouth, signifying “speak no evil”; the second had hands covering his ears, signifying “hear not evil”; and the last had hands covering his eyes, signifying “see no evil.”  The image sends a very clear message: learn to guard what you watch, listen to, and speak about. Why? God sees, He knows, and He’s the searcher of our hearts. We will be held accountable for every word we utter. ”But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.” Matthew 12:36.

This process begins with our inward thoughts and spoken words. The beautiful prayer in Psalm 19:14 is a plea for us to have both inward purity and thoughts that are pleasing to God. It is certainly true that what we constantly dwell on inwardly will be carried out in what we say and do. King David prayed these words for a heart that was pleasing to God: “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10.

The arch-enemy of our souls seeks to persuade us to believe and speak lies that go against what we know to be true and praiseworthy; things that downgrade not only others, but ourselves. Ultimately, forfeiting the peace we have in knowing that our identity is in Christ. Our thoughts, actions, and speech every moment, every hour of the day should exemplify who we are in Him. We must humble ourselves and stay before the Throne of Grace, asking for the Holy Spirit to empower our thoughts and speech with grace, kindness, and Christian love. “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14.

Philippians 4:8 admonishes us in exactly what we should concentrate our minds and hearts on: “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” 

Let us remember the lesson to be learned from those three wise monkeys: Don’t rush to see everyone else’s flaws, don’t readily listen to everything you’re told, and don’t blatantly speak if it’s not kind, necessary, or true. Above all, always look for the good in others, speaking in love one to another, and give way to living out, defending, and practicing the uncompromised Word of God, as James 1:19-20 says: “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”

God’s blessings and peace to you all.