August 24

The power of the tongue is virtually limitless. With it, revolutions can be started or flames of patriotism can be ignited. With it, spirits can be broken or faith can be deepened. The individual who controls his tongue, according to the Word, is mightier than the one who conquers an army

Proverbs 18:21 tells us that, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” That is an awesome weight of responsibility to bear, for indeed what we say can change circumstances for good or for evil. Must we not endeavor to not only control our tongue but subject our tongue to the control of the Lord!

If we will allow the Holy Spirit to dwell within us and control our minds and our emotions, it will be far easier to allow Him to control our tongue, for certainly the words we speak emanate from our innermost thoughts and feelings. If we allow Jesus to control the totality of our being, our tongue will be as described in Proverbs 15:4, “A gentle tongue (that) is a tree of life.”

This strongly suggests that our tongues can be used to bless or to harm others, but the blessing or the harm of what we say also comes back upon ourselves. In James 3:2we are told that anyone who does not offend in speech becomes fully developed in the complete essence of his being. His spiritually mature character impacts his entire nature for good.