March 5

We have become very diet conscious. We not only resolve to eat well-balanced diets but also to seek out natural foods that have not been laden with pesticides and preservatives. We know that what we put into our mouths can have a tremendous impact for good or for ill upon the entirety of our bodies—upon the whole of our lives!

Corresponding to this factor of our physical well-being is another one in the spiritual realm. The Word admonishes in Proverbs 18:20-21, “A man shall be filled with the fruit of his mouth, with the consequence of his words. Death and life are in the power of the tongue and they who indulge it shall eat its fruit.”

This is a very straight-forward assertion—what comes out of our mouths fills us and the words that fill us have consequences. There is tremendous power in the things we say, for they reflect the thoughts and feelings within our minds and hearts. The difference between the outcome of the circumstances of our lives could not be more profound, and the Word makes an extremely clear differentiation between the alternatives before us.

The words we speak do not merely channel the direction of our lives, they do not merely impact the outlook we embrace or the worldview that we espouse. The words we utter hold the key to our existence and its one great definition—life or death! Indeed, it is not the money or the possessions or the power that we have that are our essence. It is the existence of life itself or its lack that define us. And within our tongue is the power to effect the option we select.