The Tongue how and how not to use it

            I am led to write this to show you how powerful our tongue is, both for good and evil. On the good side what we say can build up and edify, even can help people accept the Lord Jesus, as their Lord and savior. Or it can tear down and destroy others when used maliciously. Almost all of my own teasing in school was indeed verbal- name calling and the like. That sort of misuse can really hurt badly, even more than a punch or a kick, and can easily leave long term scars. People who have been victimized by such bullying have been known to go as far as to commit suicide, and sometimes they need counseling to help them as well. Still, the Lord by His mercy and grace helped me endure many years of it. I am going to show by scripture many things relating to the tongue, its use, and our need to bridle it, yet also our need to use it wisely to speak along with the benefits of so doing.

First up is Matthew 12 Jesus’ words here:

(Matthew 12:33)  "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.

(Matthew 12:34)  You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

(Matthew 12:35)  The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.

(Matthew 12:36)  I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,

(Matthew 12:37)  for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

Powerful message delivered by Jesus Himself to make the fruit good or bad, not both, and that we are accountable for all careless words that we speak and that we will be both justified and condemned by what we speak so we need be careful about what comes out of our mouths

Next is a passage in James 3 which speaks very well about bridling the tongue:

(James 3:2)  For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.

(James 3:3)  If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well.

(James 3:4)  Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.

(James 3:5)  So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!

(James 3:6)  And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.

(James 3:7)  For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind,

(James 3:8)  but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

(James 3:9)  With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.

(James 3:10)  From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.

(James 3:11)  Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water?

(James 3:12)  Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

Here is another good scripture from James:

(James 1:26)  If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless.

One of my problems that I have struggled with is that I tended to be very hasty to speak, very often not thinking before blurting things out, which is a foolish thing indeed. I have had this during most all of my life, but the Lord is definitely helping me with that issue currently. Here is a proverb that addresses the matter well:

(Proverbs 29:20)  Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

I need also to heed the advice in the book of James, to be slower to speak than I sometimes am!

(James 1:19)  Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;

Here is a pair of proverbs that are very good to heed. These two proverbs also speak of bridling the tongue and even a fool who can manage to do is considered wise.

(Proverbs 17:27)  Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

(Proverbs 17:28)  Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

Here is some good advice from the epistle to the Ephesians about putting aside evil talk and  just speak things fit for encouragement and building up. Evil words tear down, in fact, not build up

(Ephesians 4:29)  Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

(Ephesians 4:31)  Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

Here are some good proverbs on the tongue- the first one again reminds us of the importance of bridling the tongue

(Proverbs 21:23)  Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.

It is important to watch what we say to keep us out of trouble. Here is a proverb that compares rash words to sword thrusts

(Proverbs 12:18)  There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

Here is a word to encourage a gentle tongue

(Pro 15:4)  A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

Yet another verse from James, encouraging us to NOT speak evil against one another:

(Jamess 4:11)  Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.

Here are some words from the book of Leviticus:

(Leviticus 19:16)  You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the LORD.

(Leviticus 19:17)  "You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him.

A good word of encouragement in the epistle to the Colossians

(Colossians 4:6)  Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

More good advice from the book of Colossians about not speaking badly to one another

(Colossians 3:8)  But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

(Colossians 3:9)  Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices

(Colossians 3:10)  and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

Here are more proverbs from chapter 12 about the tongue

(Proverbs 12:13)  An evil man is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, but the righteous escapes from trouble.

(Proverbs 12:14)  From the fruit of his mouth a man is satisfied with good, and the work of a man's hand comes back to him.

Yes we can be snared by transgressions of our lips so we must always be very careful with what we say yet we also can be satisfied with the fruit of our mouths too.

Here are two more good proverbs from chapter 18, especially important that it reminds us that both death AND life are in the power of the tongue so be careful what you say indeed:

(Proverbs 18:20)  From the fruit of a man's mouth his stomach is satisfied; he is satisfied by the yield of his lips.

(Pro 18:21)  Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.

Here are some more proverbs concerning the tongue in chapter 15

(Proverbs 15:1)  A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

(Proverbs 15:2)  The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly.

(Proverbs 15:23)  To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is!

Here is some good advice in 1 Peter again reminding us to keep our tongue from evil and deceit

(1 Peter 3:10)  For "Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit;

Here is another set of Proverbs in chapter 10 extolling the virtue of a wise tongue but warning against the foolish use of the tongue

(Proverbs 10:19)  When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.

(Proverbs 10:20)  The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; the heart of the wicked is of little worth.

(Proverbs 10:21)  The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of sense.

Sound advice on the tongue from two different Psalms

(Psalm 34:13)  Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.

(Psalms 37:30)  The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice.

Here is a verse of what we all indeed need to do around everyone and not just our enemies

(Psalms 39:1)  To the choirmaster: to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. I said, "I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle, so long as the wicked are in my presence."

Proverbs 13 verses 2 and 3 have both a promise and a stern warning about the use of the tongue

(Proverbs 13:2)  From the fruit of his mouth a man eats what is good, but the desire of the treacherous is for violence.

(Proverbs 13:3)  Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.

Again, the warning is to be careful of what we speak, and we need to guard our mouth but it also makes a promise of the too of eating what is good from the fruit of our mouth

Here is a warning not to repeat matters, or gossip:

(Proverbs 17:9)  Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.

A similar but even sterner warning is found in Proverbs 20

(Proverbs 20:19)  Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler.

The one in Proverbs 20 says not to associate with a babbler look at what is said in Proverbs chapter 25 about gossiping your neighbor’s things at what can happen when one does such a thing:

(Proverbs 25:9)  Argue your case with your neighbor himself, and do not reveal another's secret,

(Proverbs 25:10)  lest he who hears you bring shame upon you, and your ill repute have no end.

Another good proverb in chapter 11 not to gossip but to keep something confidential

(Proverbs 11:13)  Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered.

Another soft tongue Proverb, from chapter 25

(Proverbs 25:15)  With patience a ruler may be persuaded, and a soft tongue will break a bone.

Here is a word of encouragement and warning too in the book of Ephesians:

(Eph 5:4)  Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

Here is a  verse from Psalms to pray for wisdom to come out of one’s mouth

(Psa 19:14)  Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

Yes, indeed, that is my prayer, too, for my mouth, that what I speak is acceptable to the Lord, that I repent as soon as I know something is not, and also that the words not be hasty, that He break all my hastiness of speech from me. Please read the verse and pray this prayer for tongue bridling:

P1:3 Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.
(Psalm 141:3)  Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!

Dear Heavenly Father,
Enable me to bridle my tongue when I am tempted to say things that I will later regret or things that I don’t necessarily mean. Teach me to say what you would say concerning all situations, and help me to know that when I respond in silence that silence is not a bad thing. Even Your son, Jesus, responded here, that I understand that bridling the tongue is a practice of true Christianity because your Word says in James 1:26 that If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.


In Jesus’ name,
Amen

And here is a prayer to speak wisely:

Heavenly Father,
We will give thanks to you LORD, for you are good; your love endures forever. Your redeemed people will say of you LORD —
Yes, our God redeemed us from the hand of the enemy, you gathered us from the lands, from east and west, from north and south. We cried out to you LORD in our troubles, and you delivered us from our distress. Your daughters thank you for hearing our cries; we thank you for redeeming us from the pit. We love because your first loved us…We thank you for loving us so much that you Father gave us your one and only son Jesus Christ to die for our transgressions and sins. We will love our neighbor as our self, repent quickly, and forgive mercifully. We ask for your protection from evil one, help us not to be led away by temptation. Your word of truth teaches us; If our heart is wise, then your heart will be glad; your inmost being will rejoice when our lips speak what is right. We will seek for wisdom and understanding; we will seek it like seeking for treasure. Your daughters will not let their heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of you LORD. In doing so there is surely a future hope for each of your daughters and our hope will not be cut off. We will listen … and be wise, and keep our heart on the right path. We thank you for your word of truth, we will meditate on it day and night so that in the scriptures we will find hope, and our hope will not be cut off; We will be strong and courageous through your divine wisdom in the scriptures. We thank you for all your provision. We thank you for the victories you give through Jesus. In Jesus name we pray…Amen!

Jesus through His Holy Spirit helped me write this Jesus loves you and would just love a relationship with you. Here is a prayer you can pray with me if you do not know him, or want to come back to Him, if backslidden

Dear God in heaven, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I acknowledge to You that I am a sinner, and I am sorry for my sins and the life that I have lived; I need your forgiveness. I believe that your only begotten Son Jesus Christ shed His precious blood on the cross at Calvary and died for my sins, and I am now willing to turn from my sin. You said in Your Holy Word, Romans 10:9 that if we confess Jesus as our Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, we will be saved. Right now I confess Jesus as the Lord of my soul. With my heart, I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. This very moment I accept Jesus Christ as my own personal Savior and according to His Word, right now I am saved. Thank you Jesus for your unlimited grace which has saved me from my sins. I thank you Jesus that your grace never leads to license, but rather it always leads to repentance. Therefore Lord Jesus transform my life so that I may bring glory and honor to you alone and not to myself. Thank you Jesus for dying for me and giving me eternal life.
Amen.

Jesus loves you and cares for you, wanting a relationship with you. God bless you and yours