21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. ~ Proverbs 18:21
This is a really weird verse to me. Not the words exactly, but how we react to them. We quote it. We throw it at others. We even throw it at ourselves, but we rarely take it seriously. See, we really only think this verse applies to certain things that are blatant, but not to the majority of what we say. For instance, something I have personally experienced 10/10 times is if I’m having good time dancing, playing around, etc. and there are older people around, they will tell me something along the lines of enjoy it now because when you get my age or when you get older, you won’t be able this or you won’t be able to do that. Or if my weight gets brought up, they’ll tell me how I won’t be skinny forever and how much weight I’m gonna gain when I hit a certain age. It happens each and every time.
The way the older generation speaks to the younger generation has drastically changed from the time of the ancient Israelites to us today. The older generation made sure to bless their children before they passed on. The blessing from the father and, later on, the mother was an essential part of their culture. Today, instead of placing blessings on the next generation, we speak curses on them without even thinking about it. From generation to generation, growing old becomes less of a blessing and more of a painful, dare I say, punishment.
I want you to notice how the proverb goes, because I’ve only recently realized I’ve been misquoting it this whole time. The Proverb is that “death and life,” not “life and death,” are in the power of the tongue. That means death is chosen above life by those who eat of its frost. Just as Adam and Eve could have chosen to eat from the Tree of Life at any point in time, but still chose to eat from the forbidden tree that led to death, so can we choose words of life every day, but often times, most times, we choose words of death instead.
James gives us this warning in his letter:
6 And 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. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.
James 3:6-12
The LORD said that we will be judged by the words of our mouths. Why? Because He has placed before us life and death. Therefore, choose life. And when someone tries to speak death on you, try what I do. I smile, chuckle, and then rebuke their words in the name of Jesus and speak life over myself. Then I thank the LORD for hearing me and begin praising His name. No one has ever taken offense to it. In fact, they usually think I’m joking, but I mean each and every word.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Bridle And Block.