One of the things the Lord has been teaching me lately is how powerful my tongue is. As Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” And that's true. We have been given the power to build up or tear down others simply by our words!
“No one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison…so also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!” James 3:8,5
Do any of you have trouble controlling your tongue? I do! As it says in the above passage, the tongue “is a small part”, yet I often find it to be the most difficult to bring into submission under Christ!!
A passage I found the other day sounds terribly like myself:
“…Grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining advantage.” (Jude 16)
After doing a little research, I found something very shocking. What do you think is the characteristic of the “strange woman” of Proverbs described most? Her speech! Over and over we find passages like the ones below:
“To deliver you from the strange woman, from the adulteress who flatters with her words.” – Proverbs 2:16
“For the lips of an adulteress drip honey and smoother than oil is her speech.” – Proverbs 5:3
“The woman of folly is boisterous, she is naïve and knows nothing.” -Proverbs 9:13
Do you know that three of the seven things that the book of Proverbs says that God hates and are abominations before Him deal with the Tongue?
“Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil. A false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers.” - Proverbs 6:17-19
One of the things I seem to struggle with the most is “babbling” on with nothing edifying to say, or simply blurting out things that are hurtful to others (even if they might have some truth to them). Scripture speaks clearly to this:
“The wise of heart will receive commands, but a babbling fool will be ruined.”
-Proverbs 10:8
“When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise.” -Proverbs 10:19
“Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances.” -Proverbs 25:11
“A fool does not delight in understanding, but only in revealing his own mind.” -Proverbs 18:2
“As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.” -Proverbs 11:22
One of the other things I battle the most is Pride, which naturally overflows into my speech! When I read what Proverbs said about this…ouch!
“Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.” -Proverbs 27:2
I think we, as daughters are often careless with the great responsibility of edifying others with our speech. There lies before us a great decision: Will we identify with what the Scriptures call the ‘Strange Woman’?
“She is boisterous and rebellious, her feet do not remain at home.” -Proverbs 7:11
Or the ‘Godly Woman’ of Proverbs 31?
“She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.” -Proverbs 31:26
As Thumper says on Bambi, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all!” President Calvin Coolidge said it this way, "I have never been hurt by anything I didn't say."
“Even a fool when he keeps silent, is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is considered wise.” -Proverbs 17:28
No comments:
Post a Comment