The Power of the Tongue

This morning, in my morning devotion time, I was reminded of the power of the tongue.

I've been praying through Praying for Your Husband (as well as The Power of a Praying Wife) in my morning devotion/prayer time, and today's focus was on his words.

I don't know about you, but my words tend to get me in trouble more often than not. I often speak without thinking (often wanting to look intelligent, but revealing myself as less than), and I often find myself regretting that I said something.

A humorous example of this was on our recent trip to PA. We were driving down the highway when I noticed a cop sitting in his car along the side of the road trying to catch speeding vehicles. Out of my mouth I heard: "There's a cop! He's using a stun gun to catch speeding vehicles!" My husband, who was driving, immediately started laughing. I knew what I had said wasn't right, but my brain couldn't recover quickly enough to correct myself (I couldn't think of the word "radar"). All I could do was laugh it off.

Unfortunately, we're not always able to laugh off our "bloopers" or "misspeaks". Often times, when we speak before we think, our tongue has a negative affect on others, causing pain.

James 3.5-10 (NASB, emphasis mine) speaks of the power of the tongue: "So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way."

Our tongues have the ability to tear down or build up. "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit" (Proverbs 18.21). We need to be in control of our tongue, taking the time to think before we speak. 

Ephesians 4.29 instructs us to use our tongues to edify one another: "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear."

Has your tongue gotten you in trouble recently? How are you using your tongue to edify others? Look for opportunities today to use your tongue to build others up!