Power of the Tongue

Power of the Tongue 

Wanda Wade

pentecostalpublishing.com

The saying "think before you speak," conjures up the thought that careful consideration should be given to the words that are spoken before they actually come out of your mouth.  I thought about this for a moment and wondered why is this necessary?  Shouldn't you be able to say what you're  thinking?  Why should you need to think about what you want to say before you say it?  This thought provoking moment caused far more questions than answers for me.   

It first led me to something I had heard early on in my childhood, "there's death and life in the power of the tongue."  My maternal grandfather was a pastor of his own church and as a child I spent countless Sundays sitting in the pews as he spoke of redemption and salvation.  I became very familiar with many passages in the bible, so it was with ease that I thought of this verse,  

So if you're supposed to think before you speak and there's death and life in the power of the tongue, what does it all mean? And are the two related?  Let me try to clarify it and yes I believe they both go hand and hand.  If you're talking to a friend who may be going through a particularly hard time what would that conversation be like?  I'd like to think that you would offer words of encouragement, or would you?  Think about the affect your words have on those around you.  When you say something in kind more than likely it's received that way but what happens if something is said out of anger or malice? 

My bet is that it would cause an adverse reaction.  

An argument could ensue and the person on the receiving end may also respond in the same way.  In that moment did you think about your words, or were you thinking more about word choice and what you could say that would hurt the other person?  In an instance like this, is why it's important to think before you speak, even in an argument because once those words are spoken they can't be taken back.  An apology later will do little to what's already been said and still you have given life to something negative.  

Now what about the other, death and life being in the power of the tongue? Well, there's more to the verse; in it's entirety it says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit there of."  What is being relayed here is that the words you speak have the ability to do good or cause harm. For example, rumors and slander can ruin someone's reputation, while kind words of advice may lead someone down a positive path. 

Furthermore, the words you speak  have an affect on you as well, for the fruit there of, stipulates that you'll be rewarded by what you say and if this is so, what will you choose to display in your words?  

Watch that your tongue isn't used to create words of harm - wanda wade