Bridle Your Tongue!

"Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity." -Proverbs 21:23

Did you know what you say defines your life? The Bible says, "Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit." (Proverbs 18:21) Wow! That's pretty powerful — having the power of life and death in our tongues. But, do we realize what that really means?

As a culture, we're pretty prone to putting ourselves down. "Oh, I'm just stupid." Or "Man, I'm an idiot." The thing that we did may have been stupid, but a stupid move doesn't mean we are stupid. It just means we made the wrong choice. But, when we speak negative words over our lives, we're limiting our potential for growth. We even need to be careful what words we're singing over ourselves when we're singing along to songs on the radio.

"The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit." -Proverbs 15:4

Although the Bible talks of specific application of our tongues to our personal lives, it also brings it to a broader perspective. "When right-living people bless the city, it flourishes; evil talk turns it into a ghost town in no time." -Proverbs 11:11-13

And this is just evil talk! Not even evil deeds. Evil talk turns a city into a ghost town. This "city" could also be a home, a business, a church, or a community. Do you remember a time in your life where negative words pieced the life out of you? Have you ever been hurt by the negative effects of gossip?

Commit today to let no negative words come out of your mouth. With our words, we create our reality, and the reality of others. Set an example for those around you. Encourage others with your words. Please God with the use of your tongue. Praise Him. He gave us our mouths — let's use them to the benefit of God, ourselves, and others.

Related resource: I Do Boundaries: A Bible Study to Discover your Power, Protect what Matters, and Stop Feeling Bad about It by Havilah Cunnington 

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