The Power Of The Tongue - Soul Choice Ministries

There is a very small member in our body that boasts great things. It is an uncontrolled evil. Why is this small member so important, and why can it be considered evil? James 3 explains:

“Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.”

Did you grasp that? Man can tame every creature on the earth, but cannot tame, or control the tongue. It is full of poison. We must learn to be slow to speak, and quick to listen. Yet, most do just the opposite.

James 1:19 says, “Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.”

There are those who boast about speaking their mind. This is not wise. We should carefully consider the impact of our words before we speak, and be mindful of the attitude we express with our voice.

Proverbs 29:11, “A fool vents all his feelings, But a wise man holds them back.”
Psalms 39:1, “I will guard my ways, Lest I sin with my tongue; I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle.”
Proverbs 6:2, “thou art snared with the words of thy mouth.”
Proverbs 17:27, “He who has knowledge spares his words.”

There is a very scary verse in the Bible. Actually, it’s terrifying. Jesus said in Matthew 12:36, “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.”

Did you get that? Every idle word! How many of those do we speak every day. Many, I’m sure!

The word, “idle” in the Strong’s concordance #692 is the Greek word, “Argos.” It means, “lazy, useless, careless, ineffective, barren.” In other words, a word that has no real value.

R. T. Kendall in his book, Controlling the Tongue pgage 2 says this about that verse. “Oh, dear! I am in serious trouble….I cannot think of anything scarier than having every careless word, idle word, useless word, or thoughtless word thrown up at me on that day….Were we to believe it literally, I can assure you that it would go a long way in helping us to control our tongues.”

The Bible has much to say regarding our words.

Proverbs 12:18 says, “The tongue of the wise is health.”
Proverbs 12:14, “A good man shall be satisfied with good by fruit of his mouth.”
Proverbs 21:23, “Whoso keeps his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from trouble.”
1 Peter 3:10, “To him that would love life and see good days, let him refrain his mouth from speaking evil.”
Job 19:2, “How long will you torment my soul, And break me in pieces with words?”
Job 6:24, “Teach me, and I will hold my tongue; Cause me to understand wherein I have erred. How forcible are right words.”
Psalms17:4, “By the word of Your lips, I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer.”
Proverbs 18:8, “The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.”
Proverbs 16:23, “The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips.”
Proverbs 18:21, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”

We speak death or life out of our own mouths. This next verse confirms this fact:

Proverbs 13:3, “He who guards his mouth preserves his life, But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.”

There are also many verses that tell us we can lengthen our life, or shorten it. (See Proverbs 3:2, 13, 16; 9:11; 10:27; 28:16).

Jesus said in Mark 11:23, “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.” Notice that He used the word say three times in that verse. I think it must be important.

Some Christians mock those who teach that our words frame our world. But they are actually ignorant of God’s word. Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”

As we get older, many people will say things like, “My eyes are going. I should probably buy a one- story house since my knees are giving out and my body is falling apart. I’m always forgetting things. I’m not as sharp as before. I’m always tired.” They speak negative, death-filled words, instead of saying the opposite. Remember, we get what we say.

Now, we know as we age, it’s natural not to be as quick or strong as when we were young. But we don’t want to hasten the aging process by speaking negatively. Proverbs 10:11 says, “The mouth of the righteous is a well of life.”

Jesus said in Matthew 15:18, “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.” It’s not what goes in but what comes out of a man’s mouth that defiles.

Psalms 64:8, “Their own tongues will ruin them.”

Here is a biblical example of receiving exactly what one says:

In Numbers 14:1, the Israelites complained against Moses for bringing them out of Egypt to head for the Promised Land. They said, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness!”

Then in Numbers 14: 27 God said, “‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you: The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness.” Because they said, “if only we had died” God gave them just what they said. They all died.

Psalms 106:24 says, “They believed not his word, but murmured.” Their mouth brought about their death, just as Proverbs 18:21 states.

We also see in the New Testament what happened to Elizabeth’s husband, Zacharias in Luke 1. He doubted the angel and said, “How shall I know this?” He questioned an angel from heaven, instead of saying to the angel, as Mary said in Luke 1:38, “Be it unto me, according to thy word.” So the angel bound his tongue.

May we increase our awareness of the power of our words and guard our mouth consistently. May we speak faith-filled, life-giving, godly words – words of love, kindness and encouragement to others.