The Power of the Tongue

“The tongue has the power of life and death,

and those who love it will eat its fruit.” –Proverbs 18:21

“Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent,

 and discerning if they hold their tongues.” –Proverbs 17:28

“When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal.
Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” –James 3:3-6

Guys, if you’re anything like me then that little red thing inside your mouth has got you into trouble more times than you can count! Do you realize that we hold the power of death and life with one of the smallest members of our body? Our tongue can build people up around us to reach great heights or we can use it to tear people down and hold them back from going after their goals and dreams. The words we say to a person can be powerful! They can be enlightening and push someone to reach their full potential or we can destroy somebody’s world by our words. Usually, people remember the bad stuff we say to them. Think about when you were growing up. You can probably still recall the horrible names you were called or the bad things people said about you. It hurts doesn’t it? The bad things people said usually stick with us longer than the positive things said unfortunately. Do you also realize that we usually hurt and say unkind things to those we love the most and who are closest to us? We need to check ourselves, guys. I battle this all the time! I’m good at bringing people up but also very good at saying whatever comes to mind whether good or bad as if my filter is broken and making unkind comments.
 

If you have the gift of exhortation then you most likely have this love-hate relationship with the words that come out of your mouth too. The Bible says though that even a fool when he learns to hold his tongue is considered wise in that moment. I guess we should be biting that tongue extra hard! My teacher used to say to me, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all.” How true that statement is and relates to our day to day. The tongue is so small like a ship’s rudder but controls our whole body. We all know that one guy who has a lot to offer other people but the things that come out of his mouth are just annoying or ugly. Or how about on the other side of the equation we know that one person who always has a kind word to offer and is very encouraging and you swear you can hear harp strings and doves flying over every time they say a word of praise. Exaggerated yes, but what a great opportunity each and every one of us has to lift our fellow brothers and sisters up in the Lord and the unsaved people we encounter daily to show them a slice of God’s love for them through our words.
 

Another thing to consider is there are many people who never reached their full potential for their life and stopped pursuing their dreams and somewhere along the way they stopped trying and allowed themselves to get bitter. Don’t let these people hold you back from your going after what you want to achieve in this lifetime. Often, they attack you and try to hold you back to avoid the guilt it brings to them by seeing you achieve success. They often will try to hold you down to their level. Don’t allow this to happen. Recognize that often this is just them projecting themselves onto you and misery always loves company. Men, start today coming from a positive place with your words to others. If you’re already doing this and being careful with what you say, then great job! Keep it going! The world needs more encouraging men like you. There’s so much darkness and ugliness in this world with people tearing each other down. Let’s work on trying to always come from a positive place inside to offer some of God’s joy and light to others.

You can work at being the best person possible inside and out but if you don’t control the tongue it can ruin your testimony and how people view you.