How Are You Using Your Tongue?

“There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.” (Proverbs 12:18)
Words are extremely powerful. They can be used by ungodly men to manipulate, abuse, wound, deceive and kill. Unfortunately godly men are capable of the same.
When a man is born again, he does not receive a new tongue. The tongue continues to be a fire and an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. It has the ability to bless God and curse men, to send forth sweet and bitter water from the same fountain. (James 3:6-11) The difference between the godly and ungodly is that the godly possess the Holy Spirit, who is the only One with the ability to tame the tongue. The ungodly “whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words.” (Psalms 64:3) The godly will “refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.” (I Peter 3: 10-12) The world’s philosophy is to do and say whatever it takes to get ahead: after all, if I don’t look out for me, who will? The ungodly are self-centered and will step on anyone who stands in the way of his or her success. A godly man is wise in word and deed. He refuses to allow the world to dictate his behavior. He is beholden to a higher standard of conduct: the Word of God. He keeps his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile. (Psalms 34:13) He thinks before he speaks, knowing that his words have the power of life and death, to heal or to kill, to build up or tear down. The Good News version translates verse 18 this way: “Thoughtless Words can wound as deeply as any sword, but wisely spoken words can heal.” May we choose our words accordingly.