Many things have been said about the tongue, the tongue can be bitter, it can be sweet, and it can be sour too. If there is any part of our body we should guard most, it should be the mouth and the tongue in it. they have a huge impact on everything we do, everything we will become – this means the tongue can have an impact on the future too. The things that the tongue can do are numerous and this is why it is important to guard the tongue and the mouth. They must be controlled with all efforts so that we don’t get in trouble through them.
Proverbs 21:23 KJV “Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.”
It is funny that many people have been killed or died because of what they have said. It doesn’t matter how powerful one is, once the mouth speaks things that could cause damages – it would be hard to make an amendment. Some people have had the opportunity to amend and make corrections but some people did not live to make the corrections. We must guard our bodies against sinning against God. The Bible says we should flee from sin or any appearance of sin. Just looking at it from another side, if one refuses to run from the appearance of sin and then he or she sins – it is possible to ask for forgiveness (I’m not saying that we should sin on purpose). If one speaks something that could destroy things, it could be hard to make amendments. The mouth and the tongue are a powerful part of the body. They carry life and they carry death – they carry problems and they carry solutions too.
According to the scriptures, it is true that the tongue carries the power of life and death. Proverbs 18:21 KJV “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” Rephrasing the second part of this verse, those that love it will keep it, and by keeping it, you are preventing it from speaking death but life. Things that have life are bound to bring fruit – if the tongue speaks life, then there would be fruit.
There is a story in the Bible about a man that got himself killed because of the words of his mouth. The man, an Amalekite, came to report to King David of the death of Saul and his son, Jonathan. David asked him to explain how everything went. Saul tried to kill himself in a battle, he didn’t die but he was feeling pains. This Amalekite happened to be around him. Saul asked that this Amalekite kill him so that he would not be in pain. The Amalekite killed him. After David heard this, He wept. David then ordered the Amalekite to be killed because he killed the LORD’S anointed. 2 Samuel 1:16 KJV “And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the LORD’S anointed.”
There are times that we need to remain silent and not talk, there is also a time that we must talk. There is time for everything. According to Proverbs 21:23, anyone who keeps his mouth keeps his soul from trouble. There is no other way to express what is in someone’s heart physically than to speak. Many things are going on in our hearts, but we must know how to control the mouth and know we ought to say and what we ought not to say. Also, talking too much most of the time leads to sin. Proverbs 10:19 NLT “Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.”
God created this world with words, we have the power to create great things with our words too. You have the power to speak life into your day, you can command into your day. That is the right way to use the tongue.
Reflection Questions.
• Have I been speaking the right words?
• What are the things I need in my life to be able to guard my tongue and learn to control the words I say?
• What are the things God wants me to speak? Am I speaking them?
Prayer of the day.
Heavenly Father, I know sometimes we speak and we forget that we need to control the words of our mouth. Lord, I am trusting you for the right word to say. I don’t want to speak meaningless things, things that are not encouraging, things that are not glorifying your name, and the things that don’t bring life. Help me, Lord, to start speaking the right words. Let me not get myself into trouble with the words of my mouth. I speak success into my life. Amen.