Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. — Psalm 141:3
It happened very quickly. The driver had switched lanes and the driver of the car that they got in front of did not like it. At least, that’s how it appeared from the video. The driver of the car in the back got out of the vehicle at the next stoplight and started yelling at the other driver. Hopefully, the situation that I described was not you in the video, but I think that many of us can relate.
It is so easy for us to become upset with others. We become upset with them when driving, when shopping, or even when simply ordering food. We are quick to say something harsh without even giving thought of what we are saying and how it sounds.
It is easy for us to say things when we disagree with others as well. We have seen some harsh words said in relation to politics over the past few years. Curse words leave the mouths of our political and world leaders as they openly disagree with each other and being faced with difficult questions.
In this Psalm, David asks that God would set a watch, or guard, over his mouth. That God would be the keeper of the door of his lips. In other words, anything that would come out of the mouth would have to first go through God. Could you imagine how that would change things in our world today?
As Christians, everything we say and do should pass through the filter of God. We know that the tongue is powerful and the words that we say are dangerous. Our prayer should be that God would help us set a guard over our lips so that the things that we say point others to Him.