The Power of the Tongue
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” -Proverbs 18:21
What we speak with our mouths can have a profound impact on our own lives, as well as the lives of others. In one of Solomon’s proverbs, he says that both death and life are in the power of the tongue.
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The tongue: so small, yet so great.
And not only is the tongue a source of death and life, but as we’ll see from the Bible, it is the source of good and evil, love and hatred, fire and ice.
The bad: gossip and slander
“And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.” -James 3:6
God certainly didn’t hold anything back in its estimation of the tongue! The Bible even goes so far as to say that it is full of the fire of hell.
Frequently in the Bible, the tongue is compared to a fire, because only a few little words–spoken to the wrong person, or at the wrong time–can start a wave of gossip. And soon, before we realize it, all others around us have erupted into a flame of disgust or derision for another person, (or sometimes ourselves), all because we failed to control this powerful part of our body which is called the tongue.
“But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” -James 3:8
The good: sharing the gospel
You may think that with all that is said and written on the tongue, that we ought to never speak another word again! Yet God has commanded us to speak. Jesus said in what is commonly called “the Great Commission,” that we ought to “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).
We see by this command to preach, (which we all ought to do in our everyday lives, though perhaps not in the very same way that we commonly think of a preacher speaking), that we are commanded and required to speak out about God’s good news. So, through the power of our tongues, which the Bible also calls an unruly evil, and full of the fire of hell, and deadly poison–this very same tongue we are supposed to use to declare the goodness of God.
“How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” -Romans 10:14
One such “preacher” that knew the power of the tongue well was the apostle Paul. Despite the fact that the tongue can do so much damage, and be so hurtful, Paul also knew that it was God’s will for him to speak. Yet, he made sure that the words of his mouth were the words of life, and not death. Look at his appeal for prayer to the church at Ephesus:
“And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” -Ephesians 6:19-20
Fire and ice
Sometimes, and in certain circumstances, it is wise to keep silent. “Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding” (Proverbs 17:28). Yet we ought also to keep in mind that we are commanded to speak. God has called us to be ministers of His gospel, and this requires us to speak with others.
Many times, it becomes a question of what to speak, and not a question of whether to speak. For just as the tongue is compared so often to a fire, it is also compared to the refreshment that comes from the coldness of snow:
“As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to them that send him: for he refresheth the soul of his masters.” -Proverbs 25:13
If we are being obedient to the commands of Christ, we will be accounted a faithful messenger of the gospel, and the words we speak will be as the refreshment of cold snow in the time of the hot harvest.
As we go into all the world and preach the gospel, let us never be afraid or hesitant to speak out the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In so doing, we are using a body part that has been thought of as a curse, and turning it into a tremendous blessing: both for ourselves, and for those that we minister to.
“As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.” -Proverbs 25:25
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