Proverbs 18:21 – Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

The words we hear in our daily walk can either bring up someone or put down one. The words we hear from friends, family, coworkers, or just people in general can hurt us or raise us up, and especially from the ones we know and are close to.

Words can make someone’s day, or even week, to bring them joy and happiness, rather than crossing the line; on the other hand, words can bring someone to anger and hatred or even unto suicide. Words have great power and many times we take them for granted, without realizing the damage that can be done by just a few words.

Proverbs tells us that the power of death and life lies in the power of the tongue, and the ones that love it (the tongue) shall eat the fruit of it, either good fruit towards life or bad fruit towards death.

Let’s examine the words we speak daily to see what kind of words we use, to whom we speak, and why we speak the way we do. Start removing words that need to be removed and put in words that need to be put in to make your speech closer to Jesus’.

Words We Should Speak

Titus 3:2a – To speak evil of no man

Proverbs 20:15 – There is gold, and a multitude of rubies: but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.

Proverbs 12:18b – but the tongue of the wise is health.

Colossians 4:6 – Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

Proverbs 15:4a – A wholesome tongue is a tree of life

Words, as we have seen, have much power and influence behind them and can do much damage. As a child of God we need to understand how we should speak. You may ask why? Well, if we do not understand or know how we should speak, how then do we know if we are speaking according to the Word of God in truth?

We need to have the knowledge of what is good and evil, to be able to judge what is right in front of God, to be able to choose what is right and to stay away from what is wrong. In Titus 3 it states, in the first part of the verse, that we should speak no evil of no man or woman. This speaks also towards avoiding gossip but overall it says that we should not speak wrongfully in any way towards anyone.

In today’s world, many people say “just kidding!” jokes (which many times come from your truth towards something or someone) – they say something that is usually offensive or mean and then say, “just joking”; now what you don’t know is that those words have been spoken and are now out there. Even if you were joking it is to late, you have said something that could have hurt someone and brought an emotion of embarrassment, shame, anger, frustration, or dislike, among other feelings.

These emotions can make someone hate you or hate themselves which can then lead to depression, hurting themselves physicaly and emotionaly, or even suicide, as well as many other issues. As a child of God, our words/tongue should bring health to those around us and in our life. In Proverbs 12, it states, “one that speaks what is wise brings health.” Wisdom is the understanding of how God created the universe – one that speaks about how God made things be and how they function will also understand how relationships work, how marriage should be; they will understand how God put things together and is able to give those who desire to listen and receive, the wisdom which will bring peace and understanding to their problems and situations.

In addition, in Proverbs 15, it says that one that speaks wholesome (healthy, good, beneficial, nourishing) things will be one that is a tree of life for others. The words we speak should bring life and health to others and be as a precious jewel to others, as in Proverbs 20:15. So precious that one listens without inattention and desires the health and nourishment towards their benefit. Those precious jewels should bring riches into their life in the way of truth and righteousness.

The words we speak should have grace to them, a form of refined truth, ones of love and mercy towards our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, as well to the world. The words spoken should be seasoned with salt, just right, for each individual moment. Seasoned so that each one will give a better flavor to the situation, that will have people wanting to hear what you say because it’s tasteful and true, and good and right in front of God. We should speak words of true knowledge that come from our living God.

Don’t Be A Hypocrite

Matthew 12:34 – O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

Proverbs 11:9a -An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour

Proverbs 18:4 – The words of a man’s mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook.

With words we can say things that we don’t mean and also say stuff that we don’t do ourselves. I would say this is something that all Christians should look at and truly examine in their own life. We do not want to become hypocrites in what we say.

If we tell others to obey the Word of God we should do the same. When we tell others not to lie, steal, gossip, drink, smoke, hate, murder, idolize, envy others, or what ever other sin, we should not be doing the same as it makes us hypocrites. In Matthew 12, Jesus states, “O generation of vipers, how can you speak good when you are evil, out of the abundance and overfill of what is in your heart you speak out of your mouth.” Our mouths can destroy many people around us.

Let’s examine and live a life, that we also say we live, with our words. To not just be hearers but also obeyers of God’s commands. Today many people do not listen to friends and family or even leaders in the church because they see that many of them speak what should be done but don’t also live it. This is the reason why many people in the body of Christ are dead and sick and lost. If Christians became doers ourselves many would then obey what is being said by us.

Let’s become men and women with mouths like wellsprings of wisdom and as a flowing brook (Proverbs 18). Ones that bring life to the situation, ones that bring moisture and rain in times of drought, ones that can change the situation for the better.

If we want to become a true light in this darkened world we need to be doers of the Word of God and by doing so we shall become ones that really carry the light of God to the ends of the world.

Guard and Keep Yourself from The Destruction of your Tongue

Proverbs13:3 – He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.

Ephesians 5:4 – Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.

Psalm 34:13 – Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.

We must keep a guard of our mouth to keep life. So that we do not destroy ourselves with an open mouth (Proverbs 13). We must be on guard and put a gate over our mouths to make sure we do not speak filth or foolishness, nor joking which are not convenient, but be in giving of thanks.

The Word of God teaches us to watch what our mouth says. To be careful. Why? Because life and death are in the tongue. We must always remember this: that our mouth has the power of death and life. Psalms 34 tells us to keep our tongue from evil and the lips from speaking guile, from cheating others or ourselves with our words.

If we are on guard and make sure that we are the gatekeepers of our mouth we can preserve our life and other’s lives. We then can truly know and understand when to speak, to bring goodness and life to others.

If we want to be ones that bring life and growth to others around us, then we must obey the Word of God and keep the lips of destruction closed, and only allow them to open when we bring life, health, nourishment, truth, and righteousness to the situations and problems that others face.

What Words Can Do

Proverbs 11:9 -An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour: but through knowledge shall the just be delivered.

Luke 6:45 – A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

Proverbs 15:4b – A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.

Proverbs 18:21 – Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

Proverbs 12:18a – There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.

As we see in the passages above, our mouth can bring destruction to our neighbors, through perverseness we destroy bit by bit the spirit. Speaking can bring a destructive power, that of a piercing sword into the heart. With our tongue we can literally bring on death to someone. Our words have much power behind them and we must be careful to use them correctly.

Let’s not be one that destroys our neighbors or fellow brothers and sisters in Christ through our words. Instead let’s become health to them with the wisdom of God. Let’s become the wholesome tongue that brings them life in their time of need. Let us become their deliverer of the knowledge, through our mouths. Let’s bring true treasure out of the abundance of our hearts which will become good and uplifting to our fellow family of God.

God Calls For a Purpose

Isaiah 50:4 – The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.

Isaiah says that the Lord God has given him a ‘tongue of the learned’ so that he would know what to speak in the proper season to him that is weary, weak, or vulnerable. God gives us a tongue to do the same in the time of need to others in this world and to the family of God, to have the proper words in the proper season to be able to help them out during their time of need, to transform weakness to strength and courage.

Accountability

We must be careful of what comes from our heart and out of our mouth. The Word of God says in Romans 14 and Matthew 12 that we shall be kept accountable – everyone of what we say and speak – and we shall be judged on it.

Let’s remember that God is keeping track of what we speak, and the punishment can be great for what we say; just as it says, our tongue has the power of life and death in it. Understand that what we say can have an everlasting impact on you and others.

But in the end, you shall also be judged according to what you have spoken, so let’s make sure that we speak life, truth, and righteousness, and all that we say is as precious pearls to all that hear our words.

May the peace of God be with you and God Bless You.

Please leave a comment if you are able, Thank you.