Bible Reading: Proverbs 18: 1-24
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof – Proverbs 18: 21(KJV)
Everyman in life has the privilege to make choice at one time or the other. Our choice can make or mar us. It could open door for us or slam the door against us perpetually for life. Our choice of today can linger beyond our generation. The role of our tongue in choice making cannot be overemphasized. The choice made in our heart, once it proceeds from the mouth, produces effect that can be negative or positive. If you will live and enjoy the life God intends for everyone who believes in Christ, then you should understand and know how to use your tongue that God graciously gave to you.
The society is full of those who use their tongue recklessly. Unfortunately, some persons in the church, who by reason of the wrong choice of words with their tongue, fall into these category of people. The writer of Proverbs explicitly spoke about the folly of someone who uses his tongue recklessly: “A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul” – Proverbs 18:7(KJV), In another place he also said, “A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth: and the recompense of a man’s hands shall be rendered unto him” – Prov. 12:14(KJV).
What type of fruit is coming out of your mouth? Is it the one that is edifying or the one that is destructive? Please note that Jesus Christ made it clear when he said in Matthew 12:37(KJV): “For by your words thou shall be justified, and by thy words thou shall be condemned.” A more vivid picture of the positive or negative power of the use of our mouth is stated in Proverbs 13:2-3(KJV), “A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth…..He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction”
Bearing this in mind, therefore, you should watch the choice of words you employ because it could either produce life or death in you and others. If you have been using your tongue wrongly by reason of wrong choice of words, you can amend your ways by coming to Jesus and accepting him as your Lord and Saviour, and the Holy Spirit will flood your heart with goodness, Joy and peace. The choice of words, though spoken through the mouth, is a product of the heart. A dark heart produces a bad choice which proceeds from the mouth. “O generation of vipers, how can ye be evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” – Matthew 12.:34(KJV). A good heart that has experienced new birth in Christ and is Spirit-filled will produce a good choice that proceeds out of his mouth. “A good man out of the good treasures of his heart bringeth forth that which is good;…….” – Luke 6:45a(KJV). Make your choice wisely friends!
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me not to misuse my tongue any more in Jesus name
Rev. Julius Oluwole