Watch Your Tongue
“My inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.” Proverbs 23:16
Never underestimate the power of a spoken word!
Only one man in American history ever resigned from the presidency: Richard Nixon. Do you know what brought President Nixon down? Traditional thinking says it was the tapes of his private conversations. But it wasn’t the tapes, it was his tongue. It wasn’t the tapes itself, but what he said on the tapes that determined his demise.
The words- tongue, mouth, lips, and words are mentioned in the book of Proverbs almost 150 times; about five times in each of the thirty-one chapters. The fact that so much importance is placed on our words tells us we had better take care of what comes out of our mouths.
Stop and consider this: in a period of fifty years, the average person says enough words to create twelve thousand volumes of three hundred pages each. If that’s the average, think about the libraries you’re filling and the legacy you’re leaving behind. And sadly, some of the words you speak will never be forgotten!
Solomon wanted his children to grow up with a heart of wisdom, so he said, ‘My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad indeed; my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.’ Proverbs 23:15–16
If your lips would keep from slips, there are five things you need to observe with care: To whom you speak, of whom you speak, and how, and when, and where.’
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” Proverbs 18:21