There is a very small member in our body that boasts great things, yet it is an uncontrolled evil. Why is this small member so important, and why can it be considered evil? Man can tame every creature on the earth, but cannot tame or control the tongue. It is full of poison. We can bless others by what we say, or we can curse others by what we say. We actually speak death or life out of our own mouths.
Proverbs 13:3 that he who guards his mouth preserves his life, but he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.
Jesus said to the fig tree in Matthew 21:19, “And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, ’Let no fruit grow on you ever again’ Immediately the fig tree withered away.” Then in Mark 11:21 it says, “Peter, remembering, said to Him, ‘Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.’”
We see that even though Jesus didn’t literally say that he cursed the tree, by His declaration of no fruit any longer, it was considered a curse.
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Most people don’t even try to control their tongue. It takes discipline and an awareness of the power connected with our words. There are also consequences with what we say. We need to be people who are slow to speak, and quick to listen as James 1:19 describes. Unfortunately most people do just the opposite. In addition, some Christians mock the people who teach that our words frame our world. The ones who ridicule Bible teachers who teach the importance of our words are actually ignorant of God’s Word. Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” Notice that God said His children are destroyed, not unbelievers. We are the one ones who are supposed to know and apply scripture to our lives.
A lot of people also like to boast about speaking their mind. This is not wise. We should carefully consider the impact of our words before we speak, and be mindful of the attitude we express with our voice. The bible has much to say about speaking foolish and thoughtless words:
Proverbs 29:11, A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back
Psalms 39:1, I will guard my ways, lest I sin with my tongue; I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle
Proverbs 6:2, Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth
There is a verse in the Bible that we should all take note of. In Matthew 12:36 Jesus said, “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.” Did you get that? Every idle word we have spoken. How many of those do we speak every day?
One good example of this is people who criticize others. They usually speak death-filled, negative words over themselves too. As we get older, it’s not uncommon to hear people around us say things like, “My eyes are going. I should probably buy a one-story house since my knees are giving out. My body is falling apart. I’m always forgetting things. I’m not as sharp as used to be. I’m always tired.” The list is long of self-declarations made by many people every day. Yes, of course we are all aging and our bodies are changing. But we don’t want to hasten the aging process by speaking negatively, knowing that our words have power. We should be attempting to slow down any decline with positive, life-giving words.
May we increase our awareness of the power of our words and guard our mouth intensely. May we speak faith-filled life-giving, godly words – words of love, kindness and encouragement to others.
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Bill Wiese is the author of New York Times best-selling book, 23 Minutes In Hell, the story of his life-changing visit to hell in 1998. Bill has since authored six additional book titles, and continues to share his experience around the world. He and his wife Annette founded Soul Choice Ministries in late 2006 and have dedicated their lives to reaching the unsaved. For more information about Bill Wiese and Soul Choice Ministries please visit us at: https://soulchoiceministries.org/
You can find more of Bill’s teachings at: https://www.youtube.com/user/BillWieseTV
