21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. ~ Proverbs 18:21
The tongue has power. In fact, James, in his epistle, wrote, “the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things” (James 3:5). He claims that the tongue is set on fire by hell. It is the hardest of all things to control. He goes on to explain that mankind has tamed all sorts of animals, and birds, and reptiles, and sea creatures, but it is useless to try to tame the tongue. It just cannot be tamed because it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. We are blessing one moment, and the next, we are cursing and carrying on, and all with the same tongue.
Have you noticed, especially on social media, how some people can be so spiritual one moment but very worldly the next? They’ll say things like, this is the day that the LORD has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it. Or if God is for me, who can be against me? Or God is fighting for me. Your house is about to be abundantly blessed. Can somebody help brag on Jesus? Or if it wasn’t for Jesus… They make a big ado about God and the things of God. I’m blessed going in and blessed coming out. Then to read their next post would make a sailor blush.
Then there are the others who post all the dirt they can dig up on somebody they just had a falling out with. They call them all kinds of blanky, blank names and say all manner of evil about them.
This is the deadly poison James is talking about. Running each other down and cussing and going on. Using the foulest, most offensive language, they can seem to find.
God is not pleased with this kind of talk, for this ought not to be. James asks:
11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and saltwater? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.
James 3:11-12
Therefore, if we are going to please God, we had better begin to bridle our tongues; otherwise, God Himself will deal most severely with us. We cannot please our LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ, acting like that. We must change our ways from unbridled evil to ways that are more pleasing to God.
Start today to put your tongue into check. When you find you’re running somebody down or ridiculing someone else, stop and change your negative words to positive words. Replace curses with blessings, and you please the LORD.
Heavenly Father, please help us to learn how to control our tongues so that we might not use the same tongue to bless and to curse. Help us to take note of when we are being negative and give us the ability to change it to positive words. Help us to take the power out of the tongue and place it in our own hands with Your help. Thank you, LORD, for it is in Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
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