This week in chapel, we had a discussion about our speech. Our text came from Exodus 20 and the Ten Commandments. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
It’s interesting that two of the ten, 20% deal with the use of our tongue. This one and “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.”
Why so much emphasis on the tongue?
In Proverbs 18:21, it says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” That is incredible power.
And in James, the brother of Jesus says, “No man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.”
And Jesus takes it one step further and says, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.”
So maybe the emphasis on the tongue in God’s Word is really an emphasis on our hearts.
If our tongues are going to speak life, our hearts have to be full of God’s life-giving words. And of course, we find those in the Bible.
If God is the only one who can tame our tongues, then surrendering to Him and the prompting of the Holy Spirit have got to be present.
At the end of chapel, I asked the ladies to give some examples of life-giving speech. Many of them talked about encouraging conversations they had with other ladies. But one in particular caught my attention.
With tears flowing down her face, this lady simply said,
“When I called Faith Refuge and told them I needed help, they said, “Yes.” She went on to say, “They told me I mattered and that they loved me and wanted me to come.”
You never know when your words are going to breathe life into someone’s circumstances. You may be the first person who ever showed them attention without expecting something in return. It is a huge privilege and a an even bigger responsibility.
