Do You Know Your Place?

"Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore, let your words be few." --Ecclesiastes 5:2

Have you ever been told to "watch your mouth" or asked, "Who do you think you are?" It is easy to get a little mouthy or, as my mom would tell me, "you are a little big for your britches." I doubt there is a person who simply loves submitting to authority. We might respect some authorities, but most people have enough "rebel" in them to challenge authorities they do not like.

The biggest problem is when a person runs their mouth off against another person with authority over them, and they don't realize who they are talking to. That is what the teacher/preacher is warning of in Ecclesiastes 5:1-7. Only a fool would talk and walk in the presence of God without carefully weighing their words and actions.

This is a warning to us all. Know that careless word or deed goes unobserved and unrecorded by God. Jesus says, "I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak” (Matthew 12:36). When is the last time you considered the weight of your words, commitments, promises, and actions?