“For the ear tests words as the palate tastes food.”
Job 34:3 NKJV
What an incredible and life changing concept – that our ears are to test words just like we taste food.
The average adult human tongue contains between 2,000-8,000 taste buds made up of 50-150 taste receptors that report the sense of taste to the brain. Thanks to these receptors we can tell if food is sour, sweet, salty or savory and we determine what is “good” or “bad”.
The Bible instructs us to “test” the words we hear. The Hebrew word is “bahan” and means to examine, scrutinize, prove, test, put on trial, and try. It’s the same word used in Job 23:10 when Job said he was being tried and tested. It’s used in Psalms 11:4 to describe G-d’s eyelids testing the sons of man. It’s the cry of the Psalmist in 26:2 and 139:2 to have a heart and a mind that is known, tried, and tested my G-d. It’s not a flippant “test” like the ones so easily found on social media – rather, it’s an intentional, purposeful, reflective examination of every thing word and sound we hear.
The reason it’s so critical to take words captive is two fold. First, words contain the the power of life and of death (Proverbs 18:21) and second, words become thoughts (Proverbs 15:26, Matthew 15).
I remember the day a mentor asked me when I was going to fire my “committee” – the faces I saw and voices I heard in my mind every time I made a mistake. She was mentoring me about interpreting work but it held so much more meaning for me. She further challenged me to look at both why I held onto those voices and what it would take for me to replace them with the voices of people who believed in me.
This sound of said committee – the tape in my mind that played every time something bad happened or I made a mistake- consisted of words spoken to me at some point that took root in my heart. The doctor that told my mom I would never amount to anything if I recovered from spinal meningitis at the age of 2. Others that said I’d never be good enough. Still others that said my past was unforgivable and I was too broken.
But G-d – who is rich in mercy. Through Theophostic ministry, I painstakingly identified the most common phrases / LIES and by the grace of G-d, I found healing when He spoke Truth to me through His Word.
The “P48” test became something I learned then applied to my thought life and one I trained my kids to follow.
It starts with taking every word / thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5 and Hebrews 4:12) then running through Philippians 4:8:
“….whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart].”
Philippians 4:8 AMP
If the word or thought didn’t line up with Philippians 4:8 (The P48 test) then we found a truth from scripture to replace it with and repeated it a few times.
Whether we are speaking to our kids, friends, or colleagues – or it’s the voice of the committee we hear in our head – it’s important to speak life and to help identify lies when we hear them spoken. If we listen carefully, people often repeat the phrases of their committee. May our ears test, try, and prove the words we hear and confront the lies with love and truth – for ourselves and for those we lead and love.
Abba – thank you for your truth. Quicken my ears to identify the voice of truth and the voice of lies. Give me ears to You. Help me to know Your voice above all others. Perfect Your love in me and cast out all fear. Amen.