How your Words Control your Body

Have you ever considered that your words control your body?

James 3:2 captured my imagination recently because the implications of it are incredible:

“For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.”

Can you imagine what James is saying? He’s saying that if you were somehow able to control your tongue, you could control your whole body!

In this article, I’m going to share additional scriptures that support this principle. I hope it will help you consider the words that come out of your mouth, how they impact you and how they impact others.

It did for me!

When I read the James scripture originally, an image flashed into my mind about how our words travel through our bodies. Here are the stops they make in order:

1. Into our ears
2. Into our mind
3. Into our heart (innermost being)
4. Out of our mouths
5. Impacts our bodies

Here are the additional scriptures that support this route. I recommend that you study this out for yourself and see if it fascinates you as much as it does me.

1. Words Into our Ears

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

– Romans 10:17

The first step to controlling what comes out of your mouth starts with the words that you hear. That is how our faith is built.

I also believe the words that we ”hear” internally affects our faith – our self talk. These are the words that we say to ourselves about what we believe and the words we meditate upon daily.

That’s really the first step to beginning to control the words that come out of your mouth so that you can begin to control your body.

2. Words Into our Minds

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

– Romans 12:2

If you don’t like the results that you’re getting in life, then this scripture challenges you to go back and consider:

• What are you hearing?
• What are you saying to yourself?
• What are you meditating on?

When you hear words, your mind has to process them and decide: ”What do these words mean?”

If your mind decides that the words are irrelevant and don’t apply to you, then it will dismiss the words.

However, if your mind decides that the words are relevant to you, then it will give them careful consideration.

That’s where your meditation comes into play and where the words have the opportunity to become part of your innermost being – where your beliefs live.

3. Words Into our Hearts (Innermost Being)

For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

– Romans 10:10

Many of us may be familiar with this scripture also because it tells us how we come to salvation in Jesus Christ. We are saved because we believed in our hearts and confessed with our mouths that He is the Son of God.

Your heart refers not to the physical organ in this case, but to your innermost being.

Your innermost being houses your beliefs about:

• Your identity
• Your purpose
• What you’ve decided matters to you

Two additional scriptures tell us why it is important to examine the beliefs housed in our innermost being.

In speaking to the Pharisees, the religious order of His day, Jesus said to them:

Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”

– Matthew 12:34

In addition, Proverbs 4:23 advises us:

Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.”

The reason it is important to pay attention to this area is that our thoughts are filtered through our beliefs and it’s how we make decisions about what is worth our attention.

4. Words Out of our Mouths

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good, and an evil man of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil.”

Luke 6:45

These are Jesus’ words and are complementary to the principle stated earlier: ‘”For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.”

So if unwanted words are coming out of your mouth such as:

• You are speaking curses
• You are putting yourself and others down
• You are beating yourself up verbally (or mentally by the words you hear within yourself)

I recommend going back to the beginning and paying attention to what you are listening to and what you are meditating on in your heart because that controls what is coming out of your mouth.

5. Words Impact our Bodies

Here is that scripture from James again:

“For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.”

James 3:2

Controlling our tongue is a big job! Later on in James 3, he talks about how the tongue is a fire.

He emphasizes how it is a small member, but impacts big things, just as a rudder controls the direction of a ship and a bridle controls the direction of a horse.

The implications are huge if you recognize that with your mouth, you can begin to control the direction of your body if you use it the way God designed.

I hope that message has challenged you to start looking at the things that you’re meditating on and the things that you’re speaking.

Controlling the tongue is a lifelong job and I don’t think it’s over until the day of Jesus Christ. But it’s work that is worth doing.

I pray that you grab a hold of this principle and start practicing it, because you have God’s Spirit on the inside of you if you’re in Christ Jesus, and He will give you the power to do it!

Be Blessed with Success,

Kimberly Taylor, Author of the Take Back Your Temple program

P.S. Tired of carrying emotional weight?

The value of the Take Back Your Temple program is that you get a practical, Christian-based plan and the support network you need to finally overcome emotional eating and your weight loss barriers.

Take back your life.

Click here to become a Take Back Your Temple program member.