Filtered mouths and ears
Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you. Your heart knows that many times you yourself have cursed others. Ecclesiastes 7:21-22
The above verses summarize an important truth: “do not take to heart all the things that people say.” We must guard our hearts at all times, whether it be from people who criticize us maliciously or give us well-intended advice, as only God's word will come true. The word of man is mostly a form of opinion, so not every word will come true, and the devil will use other people's mouths to afflict and attack us, so we try not to give the enemy a foothold.
Therefore, I believe a strong spiritual filter in our mouth and ears can give us a steadfast spirit so we are not tossed around by people's opinions or confused by their words. As well as this, we need to filter our mouth, since the key verse mentions that we have cursed others many times. When someone hears what others complain about, they feel shocked and indignant, but they also complain about others the same way. Usually, when people speak ill of others, they don't take it seriously, but when someone says ill of them, they take it seriously.
"A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense”. Proverbs 19:11, overlooking an offense is actually a glorious thing. In addition, when someone says something unkind about us, we probably have done the same to others. Taking people's words seriously is a bait of Satan that makes us offended. When people close to us speak ill of us, we can easily become offended, but we may hurt them in some way at some point. As well, we all need to guard our mouths by God's grace.
Proverbs 14:15 “The simple believes every word, But the prudent considers well his steps.” In another extreme, we take people's opinions too seriously and are too naive to take everything they say. Regardless of how Godly a person may be, we are all flawed human beings. When people make absolute and directive statements in other people's lives, especially if they are not sure what they are talking about or if they are out of egotistical views, this can also curse others as well.
It is above all else that we need to listen to the word of God, and only God's word is the filter for what men say. Only God's word matters, so heed God's voice, and always filter men's words through scripture and the Holy Spirit.
May the Holy Spirit filter out what goes into our hearts and minds as everything we hear, and guard our mouths from cursing others knowingly or unknowingly.
Blessing prayer: Set a guard over our mouths and ears so we can speak and hear your truth. Give us peace and guard our hearts at all times. In Jesus' name, Amen
