Do you listen to what you say, to how you respond, to what comes out of your mouth? Or do you only remember what someone else says? Or for those who think it but don’t say it, are you paying attention to what you are thinking?

Proverbs 16:1 says, “The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.” How we respond to things matters to the Lord, whether that is verbal or thought response. Are you listening to yourself, so you can know what is inside of you?

We think we know what we believe, what we love, who we are, but if we really listen to ourselves, we will discover things about ourselves we may not like or things we may absolutely love about ourselves. I have a friend who is a great listener and she is so good at listening and gives me so much grace, I hear things I say. When I hear things I say, I evaluate where that came from and then make the appropriate adjustments in the way of forgiveness, understanding or even a sharp course correction.

I was in a conversation with her yesterday and I realized I was shadow boxing with old voices in a new conversation. I was saddened by my response to the love that was being shown me, because I could not get past the old voices that were assaulting me. I share this because during this season there is a lot of shadow boxing we do as people and we need to listen carefully to what comes out of our mouth, for the answer/response of the tongue is from the Lord. Meaning the Lord wants us to pay attention to our responses.

If you don’t like what is coming out of your mouth, ask the Lord what is inside your heart that you cannot see. Self-evaluation is a gift we need to give ourselves this Christmas, for we all need to listen to what we say more than what others are saying, for our response reveals more about us than them. Adjustments always make us feel better.