...Before your head hits the pillow... Do your words hurt or heal? I was reading through some of my previous posts and came upon this one and thought it was worth posting again. I think this one is a tough one to write about and maybe a tough one to read. I would dare venture that every one of us has said things that we wish we could take back, sometimes almost immediately after uttering them. But unfortunately once something is said, you can never take it back. While doing research for this post I became curious about how much the Bible speaks about our tongue, slander, or gossip. I pretty much knew that this issue was a big deal since the Bible talks about rash words being like sword thrusts. The Bible has more than 150 verses on controlling our tongue or watching our mouths. It also has more than 100 verses about slander and more than three dozen about gossip! Here are just a few verses that talk about the tongue, its power for good AND for evil: Proverbs 21:23 -Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble. Proverbs 12:18 - There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Matthew 12:36 - But I tell you that every idle word that men speak, they will give account of it in the Day of Judgment. For by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned. I Peter 3:10 - For Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; Matthew 15:11 - It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person. Proverbs 17:9 - Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends. The list of passages about the tongue and watching what we say goes on and on and on and on! So why does the Bible have so much to say about the tongue and what we say? The tongue is the gateway to our heart. A person can see what is in the heart by what comes out of the mouth. If what comes out of our mouth is not loving and kind, then what is a person to think of our heart? If we are quick to encourage, to greet with kindness, then that will be our witness. This doesnt mean that we cannot use our mouths to correct, to be salt in a broken land, or to witness Gods truth, but it does mean that when we do it, we must do it in LOVE! What comes out of our mouth can do damaging things to our children, or it can build them up. I once heard that we should come up with 10 things about which to praise our children to each rebuke. People are fragile, almost all of us, if we would admit it. As a young woman I was always fit, an athlete and very trim. When I was pregnant with my first child, almost ready to deliver, a woman who barely knew me remarked, You always were a little hefty! Now I know that is a stupid thing to remember, but 35 years later, I still do. That one harsh comment rings in my ears when I gain just a bit too much weight! I know that so many other things that are said are so much crueler, but if a little thing like that can stick in the mind of one rather confident woman, just think what some of our harsher words can do!! Our words are a witness to our relationship with the Lord. If someone at work knows that we are a Christian, and we have a hard time controlling our tongue, what does that tell your colleague? What kind of witness are we? If are words are overly harsh with our children what are we teaching them and what are we doing to their tiny spirits? Harsh and bitter words can destroy marriages. And again, the worst thing about words is that you cannot put them back in your mouth. I cringe when a non-believer challenges us on this Facebook page and we respond in harsh language. We each can state our points clearly and concisely and no derogatory language is necessary. If we respond harshly, what type of witness have we become? But this isnt only about harsh language, this is also about gossip. How many times have we all taken part in discussions about someone we knew? How many times have we chimed in rather than stopped the discussion. Gossip is a killer of friendships, a killer of churches, and a killer of spirits. So I guess the challenge is this; lets be the person mentioned in Psalm 37:30 - The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. Lets be the person who gives the soft answer as sited in Proverbs 15:1 Let it be said of us as the one in Proverbs 26:20 - For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases. Lets emulate Psalm 39:1 To the choirmaster: to Jeduthun, A Psalm of David. I said I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle, so long as the wicked are in my presence. And lastly: Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. James 1:19-20
Posted on: Sun, 17 Aug 2014 02:00:02 +0000
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