The Tongue
I was reading in James, Ephesians and Proverbs this week in my devotions, and was struck by the following verses. Convicted about how I use my words and my tongue, I thought I’d share them with you. They stand on their own—I don’t need to comment on them. Hopefully you will be as edified by the Word on the word as I was.
“The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off.” – Prov. 10:31
“The one who guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.” – Prov. 13:3
“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly.” – Prov. 15:1-2
“A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.” – Prov. 15:4
“The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the heart of fools [or the hearts of fools are not steadfast].” – Prov. 15:7
“Righteous lips are the delight of a king, and he loves him who speaks what is right.” – Prov. 16:13
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue” – Prov. 18:21
“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak…” – James 1:19
“If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.” – James 1:26
“The tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.” – James 3:6
“…no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.” – James 3:8-10
“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only as such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” – Eph. 4:29
[All verses from the ESV translation]
Filed under: Christian Living, Conviction, Fellowship, Weakness, Words
Word.
Wow. You put James 3:6 and 8-10 in a new (to me) context. Their language is certainly strong! Thankfully we have a God who can tame our tongues.
Also, this collection of verses makes me think that studying Linguistics is not quite as trivial as I’m tempted to think
Can’t improve upon Carl’s comment…
No human being can tame the tongue… but God can! Thanks Hannah!
Wow… I certainly needed to read this. It’s so easy to forget how destructive our words can become. Thanks for the reminder!
My Youth Minister strongly believes that the tongue and words have the most impact. That they’re far greater to learn from than actions. So now whenever I think of the little rhyme “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me”, while it’s true that wrods can never hurt me, they can definitely hurt the growth of God’s kingdom… I read somewhere the other day that for every 1 good thing that’s said 9 more bad things are said. I don’t remember where I saw it, I’ve been sporadically reading the Bible lately, so I have no clue where to look either, haha. Thanks for reenforcing this message that is too often overlooked.
-Bee-