Scripture for Today:  Psalms 141:3  “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.”

My dummy, Renée, and I have had lots of adventures together.  She says things that I would not dare to say!  And she gets away with it.  Renée is allowed to speak English at our summer outreach English camps.  Otherwise, she speaks French.  I do not quite understand why she speaks it with such a funny accent!

There is one routine we do together where the reaction of the children is always the same.  Renée starts to get sassy and says she does not need me to be able to speak.  I put her down, walk a distance from her, and wait for her to talk on her own.  Invariably, the children all look at Renée in breathless anticipation!  Somehow, they start to believe that she controls her own mouth!

Renée has no choice of who controls her mouth, but I sure do!  When I control my mouth, it is sometimes “out of control.”  So much of what displease my Lord comes from my mouth, whether it be gossip, lying, arguments, criticism, swearing….the list goes on.  Like James 3 says, so little a member of my body does such huge damage.

Inside of Renee is a large controlling stick with a small lever on the side that opens and closes her mouth.  For me, that small lever represents the “guard” or “door” that the Lord wants to use with my mouth.  He offers to control my mouth, as my control only causes problems.

Humility is required to admit being a “dummy” in need of Someone at the controls.  The Lord invites me to echo the prayer of our verse.  May He control what comes out of my mouth today!