Walk

326. The Words of Your Mouth

The Creative and Destructive Power of the Tongue

 

Planet Earth is ruled by words.  The Word of God created it, and the Word of God upholds the entire universe.  Your speech can be a healing instrument of God, or a destructive tool of the devil!

John chapter 1 says that the Word is God. 

Isaiah had an experience in the presence of God and said, “Woe is me! For I am undone and ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for (I know this because) my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!  Then flew one of the seraphim [heavenly beings] to me, having a live coal in his hand which he had taken with tongs from off the altar; and with it he touched my mouth and said, Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity and guilt are taken away, and your sin is completely atoned for and forgiven” (Isaiah 6:5-7, Amplified Bible).  When we truly experience the presence of God, we will discover the uncleanness of our words.

Words are powerful.  Sound waves can cause electrons and atoms to form into different patterns, which materialize on the plane of earth-consciousness in many different ways.

Man is able to speak God’s will onto the earth.  God created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them with His Word.  Then, He gave dominion to man to use his words to be a co-worker with God.

God turned the earth over to Adam.  God gave the authority of the earth to man and man’s creative imagination and speech.  “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth’” (Genesis 1:28).

Psalm 8 says that the earth is in the hands of man.  “For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet” (Psalm 8:5-6).

Adam realized his creative power; he named all the creatures.  Actually, Adam did not really make an independent decision of what to call the animals.  He was so one with God, that he was actually speaking God’s will as his own will.  Adam fell in love with the creative gift of the power of the spoken word.  He found that he could imagine things in his own mind and then speak them, and they would materialize.  The temptation was “to be like God.”  The Tree of Life represented coming to God for your thoughts and words, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil represented using your imagination apart from God to imagine and then speak.

Adam began to misuse his gift.  The entire earth began to change.  Eden was lost, and the earth was subject to the imaginations of an animal (man) who was separated from God.  Only this man had the power of imagination and speech, which no other creature had.  Today we underestimate this power because it can take years, even a lifetime, for words to create things in the seen world.

The Flood & the Tower of Babel:  The perfect work of the Father had been marred.  Genesis 6:5-6 says,  “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth and He was grieved in His heart.”

Even after the flood recorded in Genesis receded the people said, “Come, let us build us a city and a tower whose top reaches into the sky, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered over the whole earth.  And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. And the Lord said, Behold, they are one people and they have all one language; and this is the only the beginning of what they will do, and now nothing they have imagined they can do will be impossible for them” (Genesis 11:4-6, Amplified Bible).   We know the rest.  At the Tower of Babel the Lord confused their language so that they could not understand each other and scattered them all over the earth.

Jesus came and said, “I am Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last” (Revelation 1:11).  In other words, He spoke the first creation and He had come to speak the New Creation.  He said, “I delight to do Your will, O my God” (Psalm 40:8).

Jesus did not seek His own will but the will of the Father who sent Him.  He said, “I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent me” (John 5:30).  In John 12:49 Jesus said that He only spoke what He heard the Father speaking first.  He called Himself the last Adam.

We are co-creators of the new creation.  Every generation creates its’ own creatures.  Ancient uncivilized savages openly spoke their evil desires into living forms, and monsters and wild beasts roamed the earth terrifying and destroying their creators.  Man was given dominion over all the living creatures in Genesis 1 and 2, so all of man’s evil desires and emotions have affected animals until now.  In more modern generations we have become more educated, civilized and sophisticated.  In so-called Christian nations there are not so many wild beasts, but we see them now in the form of pests and parasites and disease germs and poisonous microbes.  As fast as medical science finds a cure for certain bacteria and diseases, new ones appear.  TB used to be terminal, cancer was but is now becoming more tolerable, but then AIDS arrives on the scene. And now some weird virus is in the Southwest that baffles scientists.

Everything we see around us has been spoken into being.  If we had eyes to see and could follow the course of every sound wave, we would see that everything we express in speech goes forth seeking other waves of the same quality, kind or species.  When they mingle, they unite to produce a pattern of electrons and atoms that, finally, materialize as seeds, eggs or sperm.  1 Peter says that the Word of God is the sperm that conceives our new birth.  Mark 4 says that the Word is a seed.  Jesus inferred that the Word planted in and spoken by man is the way life works.  Matthew 18:19 says that if any two on earth are agreeing together, that whatever they ask and say will be done.  When two or three are gathered together in Jesus’ name He is there with them to produce it.  What about if any two or three come together in some other name like they did at the Tower of Babel?  If you talk with a witch they will tell you how stupid many Christians are because they do not realize the power of the tongue.

The sharp stinging words, the poisonous slanders, flatteries or falsities, lies and cruel words that hurt or wound others, the jealousies, hates, fears, injustices, all these things and many more materialize in the forms that belong to their own species.   But Galatians 6:7 is also true.  It says, “…whatever a man sows, and that he will also reap.”  READ IT.

Matthew 12:36-37 says, “But I say to you that for every idle word man may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”  Judgment can come now here on earth and later in eternity.

Think of the misuse of this creative power when in earlier generations the silent order of monks and nuns would not speak.

Those who are gardeners and those who worked on the kibbutzims in Israel can testify that vegetables, gardens and flowers respond to music and speech.  Think of yourself, when a harsh word hits you, how it wounds your spirit.

The answer, of course, is to allow the Holy Spirit to control again our minds and imagination, and then, out of the abundance of our heart, we will speak kind, healing thoughts. 

This is why criticism is so bad; it does not change anything but the criticizer.  Jesus so often dealt with evil things not by ignoring them or embracing the evil and compromising with it, but by exercising a law above the lower law.  He could have criticized the woman taken in adultery.  He knew it was wrong; He was not compromising with immorality, but He was using the creative power of man to heal the wrong.  He was not compromising with the world by agreeing to pay taxes to Herod.  In submitting to the evil government He was keeping his power; the devil could not trick Him to loose His power by not submitting to authority.  But Jesus overcame the evil with a miracle by finding the money in a fish.  Matthew 7:1-2 (Amplified Bible) says, “Do not judge and criticize and condemn others, so that you may not be judged and criticized and condemned yourselves. For just as you judge and criticize and condemn others, you will be judged and criticized and condemned, and in accordance with the measure you [use to] deal out to others, it will be dealt out again to you.”   Gossip and criticism will KILL YOU! 

What James says about the tongue.

The tongue has control over the entire body.  The speech center in the brain has dominion.  Speaking in our newly acquired heavenly language of tongues can be a blessing to us and to those around us when we pray.  We pray God’s will into being.

What does the parable of the wedding feast have to do with speech?

“And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. Again, he sent out other servants, saying, “Tell those who are invited, ‘See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.’” But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then he said to his servants, “The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.” So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?” And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, “Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” For many are called, but few are chosen’” (Matthew 22:1-14).

The ones who did not make it were not only the ones who were not interested in God and considered the worldly things more important, but also the ones who came to the wedding but would not put on the beautiful garment that was provided by the host (this was a tradition).  They were speechless in verse 12, in verse 15, the Pharisees went and consulted and plotted together how they might entangle Jesus in his talk. 

The garment spoken of is righteousness but it is also a holy speech. 

How do we obtain that righteousness?  There are two types of garments representing righteousness.  One is the free gift of righteousness (the white robe), and the other is linen (the wedding garment), which represents works of righteousness.  We are not saved by works, but the works of righteousness follow our salvation.  One of the main works of righteousness is holy speech.

Romans chapter 10 says that Israel was ignorant of real righteousness; the kind that comes from God as a free gift and not from how we perform.  But Romans 10 tells us that the way to receive righteousness from God is with our speech.  “The Word (God’s message in Christ) is near you, on your lips and in your heart; that is, the Word (the message, the basis and object) of faith which we preach, because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (delivered from danger and healed).  For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ) and so is justified (declared righteous, acceptable to God), and with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms [his] salvation” (Romans 10:8-10, Amplified Bible). 

“"Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints” (Revelation 19:7-8).

Oh, how nice it will be when we meet Jesus in heaven some day, and find out how many times our words healed someone’s broken heart, comforted the lonely, perhaps healed a broken body or a heartsick soul.  How awful it would be to find out how much we hurt someone!  Jesus went around doing good wherever He went.  Let us allow the Holy Spirit cleanse our lips with His coal of fire, and allow God to use us as His instrument of doing good.

 

Derek Prince writes some important issues about the tongue and the words of our mouth in his book “Does You Tongue Need Healing,” pages 23-60 (this is not a word for word quote, but selective and edited quotations).

 

The Biblical Picture of the Tongue

We have considered thus far the direct connection between our hearts and our mouths, as summed up in the words of Jesus in Matthew 12:34: Out of the over­flow of the heart the mouth speaks .  When the heart is filled, it overflows through the mouth, and that overflow tells us the real condition of the heart.

In the Old Testament there are portraits of Christ and of Christ’s bride.  For Christ the Messiah and His bride, the church, the first feature of the grace of God and the spiritual and moral beauty is their lips and their speech.

We are now going to consider a biblical picture of the tongue itself.  The epistle of James deals at length with this subject.  First, consider some very searching re­marks James makes about the kind of religion which God accepts and also the kind that He does not accept.  James speaks about the kind of religion that is not acceptable to God:

“If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless” (James 1:26, NIV).

It does not matter how religious we may claim to be.  We may attend church, sing hymns and do all the other things that are expected of religious people.  In them­selves, all those things are good.  We may do all those things, but if we do not keep our tongues under control, our reli­gion is worthless and unacceptable to God.  May God grant that all religious people would face up to this issue.

On the other hand, James speaks about the kind of religion God accepts.  Again, it is different from the practice of the average churchgoer today.

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this, to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27, NIV).

The first positive requirement of pure religion is not churchgoing, or even Bible reading.  It is looking after and showing practical love to those who are in need, pri­marily orphans and widows.

Let me suggest, if you are in any way religious, that you take time to look in this mirror of the Word of God found in James 1:26-27.  If you do not control your tongue, your religion is worthless.  If you want to have a religion that is accepted by God, it must be demonstrated first and foremost in caring for those who are in need: the or­phans and the widows.

I think again about the doctor in the desert when he asked his patients how they felt.  He really was not too interested in the answer because the next thing he always said was, ‘Show me your tongue.’

That is really what James is saying in these two verses.  If you want to impress God with your religion, the first thing He will say is, ‘Show me your tongue.’ He is going to judge from your tongue whether your religion is valid and acceptable or not.

James uses a number of pictures to illustrate the function of the tongue in our lives.  First, James 3:2 says:

“We all stumble in many ways.  If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.”

James is saying that if you can control your tongue, you can control your whole life.  You are a perfect man if you can control your tongue.  Then he goes on in the remainder of this passage to give some illustrations from the natural world.  James 3:3-8 continues:  “When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal.  Or take ships as an example.  Although they are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.  Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.”

The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body.  It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue.  It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

James is bringing out the unique significance and influence of the tongue for the whole course of our lives.  The first example he uses is the bit in the horse’s mouth. He says, “If we succeed in putting a bit in a horse’s mouth, we can turn the whole animal around.”

The horse, in the Bible, is usually a type of physical strength.  James is saying that no matter how strong a horse is, if you can get control of its mouth with the bit, you can control the whole animal.  The horse’s strength is brought into subjection through the control of its mouth.  The same is true with us.  That which controls our mouths controls the whole course of our lives.

The next example is perhaps a little more vivid.  He compares the tongue to the rudder of a ship.  A ship may be a great structure, but is carried to and fro by the tremendously powerful forces of the winds and the waves.  Yet, in that ship there is only one decisive, small piece – the rudder.  It is the use of the rudder that determines the whole course of the ship.  If the rudder is used properly, the ship will arrive safely in the harbor.  If the rudder is not used properly, the ship is likely to be ship­wrecked.

James says it is the same in our lives.  The tongue is the rudder.  Our tongues control the course of our lives.  If the rudder of the tongue is used properly, we will make it safely to our appointed destinations.  But if our tongues are not used properly, we will be shipwrecked.

James also gives the example of a small spark that can start a forest fire.  Every year in the United States, billions of dollars of damage is caused by forest fires, and they usually start just the way James says, with a small spark.  The Forest De­partment of the United States has a very vivid poster which says, “Only you can prevent forest fires.”

That is also true in the spiritual realm.  The tongue is like a little spark that can cause a forest fire of vast proportions, causing billions of dollars of damage.  Many churches and religious groups no longer exist because one tongue set a spark that burned up the whole thing, which could never be restored.

The final example James uses is that of a source of lethal poison.  He says the tongue is like a deadly element that can poison us by spreading infection through the whole system of our lives.

Consider those examples again: the bit in the horse’s mouth, the rudder in the ship, the spark that starts a forest fire, and a poison that is injected into the life stream.  The principle underlying each of these illustrations is the same: the tongue is a small part of the body, but it is able to cause inestimable damage that might never be undone.

James goes on to point out, once more, the inconsistencies of religious people:

“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing.  My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water” (James 3:9-12, NIV).

James is saying exactly the same thing Jesus said.  If the tree is good, the fruit will be good.  If you have a fig tree in your heart, you will get figs out of your mouth.  But if you have a vine in your heart, you will never get figs out of your mouth.  What comes out of your mouth indicates what is in your heart.

It is the same, he said, with the flow of water.  If the water that comes out of your mouth is fresh, then the spring that is in your heart is fresh.  But if the water that comes out of your mouth is salty and brackish, then the spring of your heart is salty and brackish.  So that which comes out of the mouth inevitably indicates the true condition of the heart

 

Words Determine Destiny

The essence of the different pictures that James uses to illustrate the function of the tongue in our lives is the same: the tongue is something small in itself, but capable of causing incalculable harm if left unchecked.  Of the four particular pictures that I referred to (the bit in the horse’s mouth, the rudder in the ship, a spark that starts a forest fire, and a source of poison that corrupts the whole life stream), the one that best illustrates the tremendous potential of the tongue is that of the rudder in the ship.

The rudder is visually just a small part of the ship that is down below the surface. You do not see it when you look at the ship sailing on the surface of the water.  Yet that small part, which is not normally visible to the eye, determines the direction of the ship.  If the rudder is used correctly, the ship will make it safely to its destined harbor.  But if the rudder is misused, al­most certainly the ship will suffer ship­wreck.  The rudder determines the course and the destiny of the entire ship.

The Bible says the tongue is like that in our bodies.  When we look at people from outward appearances, normally we do not even see their tongues.  Yet that small, un­noticed member is just like the rudder in the ship.  The tongue’s use determines the course of the person’s life.  It determines his or her destiny.

To continue our study, we want to con­sider an example from the history of Israel that drives home this lesson with inescap­able clarity.  The lesson to learn is this:

Men determine their own destinies by the way they use their tongues.

The incident we are going to look at is found in the book of Numbers, chapters 13 and 14.  The Israelites had come out of Egypt and were on their way to the Prom­ised Land.  God arranged with Moses to send twelve men ahead of them to spy out the land: to find out its general character, the nature of the inhabitants, the kind of cities, the kind of fruit, and to bring back a report.  One leader was chosen from each of the twelve tribes to go ahead into the land.  They spent forty days walking through the land and then they came back with their report.  The report they brought back is given to us in Numbers 13:26-28 (KJV):

“And they (the twelve spies) went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.” [The fruit was so heavy that it took two men to carry one bunch of grapes on a of between them.  But this is what they said next].  “Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak (the giants) there.”

When God gives you a promise, are you going to accept the promise at its face value, or are you going to accept it and then say ‘nevertheless’?  That was a fatal word that caused the people to be disturbed and distressed.

Two of the spies, however, Caleb and Joshua, refused to go along with this nega­tive attitude.  In Numbers 13:30-31 (KJV) we read this: “And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.”

Let us take notice of the words that were used.  Caleb said, “We are well able to overcome it.”  The other ten spies said, “We be not able.”  One set of spies said the positive: “We are able.”  The other set said the negative: “We are not able.”  As you follow the story, you will see that each group got exactly what they said.  Each group’s destiny was settled by their words. “And the LORD said, I have pardoned according to thy word: But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD. Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not heartened to my voice; Surely they shall not see the land which I swore unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it: But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it” (Numbers 14:20-24, KJV).

By his positive confession, Caleb settled his destiny for the positive.  Numbers 14:26-32 (KJV) continues: “And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, How long shall I bear with this evil con­gregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me. Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you: Your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of You, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward which have murmured against me. Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised.  But as for you, your carcasses, they shall fall in this wilderness.”

Notice the words, ‘as you have spoken in my ears, so will I do to you.’ God is saying, in effect, “You have settled what I will do to you by the words that you have spoken.”

“And the men, which Moses sent to search the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up a slander upon the land, even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the LORD.” (They settled their own deaths.  They spoke words of death, and death was the outcome). “But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of the men that went to search the land, lived still” (Numbers 14:36-38, KJV)

Death and life are in the power of the tongue.  How much more clearly could that be illustrated? The men that spoke nega­tively settled for death.  The men that spoke positively received life.  They settled their own destinies by what they spoke.  The ones that said, “We are not able,” were not able.  The ones that said, “We are able,” were able.

In the New Testament, our experience as Christians is directly compared to that of Israel in the Old Testament.  We are warned that the same lessons apply to us.  Hebrews 4:1-2 (NIV) reads: “Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the gospel (the Good News) preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard it did not combine it with faith.”

The same promise that God gave to Israel still stands for us a promise of entering into the rest of God but we must be careful that we do not fall short of it in the same way that they did in the Old Testament.  Their problem was they heard the message, a promise from God, but they added that one fatal word ‘nevertheless.’ Instead of focusing on the promise of God and boldly confessing their faith in God’s promise and power, they focused on the negative.  They looked at the giants and the walled cities and said, “We are not able.” Thank God for two men who had the faith and the courage to say, “We are well able.”

When you face God’s promise concerning a certain situation, what are you going to do with your tongue? Are you going to give assent to the promise of God?  Are you going to identify yourself with the promise of God and say, “God said it; I’m able.” Or are you going to be one of those who say, “Nevertheless, look at all the problems.  God said it, but somehow I don’t feel able.”  Remember, just as those spies settled their destinies with their tongues by the words that they spoke, so the same lesson applies to whoever has heard the gospel.  We like­wise settle our destinies by the words that we speak.

Ten of the twelve spies focused on the problems, not on the promises.  Two of the twelve spies, Joshua and Caleb, focused on the promises, not on the problems.  Joshua and Caleb said, “We are well able.” The other spies said, “We are not able.” Each got exactly what they said.  They all settled their own destinies by the way they used their tongues.

We have studied an example from the Old Testament that illustrates how ‘death and life’ are in the power of the tongue.  We learned that the right use of the tongue will impart life, and, conversely, the wrong use will impart death.

Now, we will consider certain specific diseases that affect our tongues.  These six diseases that commonly infect our lives through the misuse of our tongues can, in some cases, be fatal if left unchecked.

 

Disease Number One: Excessive Talking

This disease is so common that people accept it as normal when it is not. “When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise” (Proverbs 10:19, NIV).

Another version of the same Scripture verse reads: “When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable. But he who restrains his lips is wise” (Proverbs 10:19, NAS)

In other words, if you say too much you are bound to say something wrong.  There is no alternative.

 

Disease Number Two: Idle or Careless Words

In Matthew 12:36 (NIV) Jesus says this: “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word you have spoken.”

One day we are going to have to an­swer for every word we have spoken.  We are going to have to answer for words that were idle, insincere, that we did not really mean, that we were not prepared to stand behind, or that were not worked out in our lives.

In the Sermon on the Mount, recorded in Matthew 5:37 (NIV) Jesus states: “Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”

That is an astonishing statement.  If we say more than we mean, then the exagger­ation (unnecessary emphasis or overdoing) in our speech comes from the evil one.

Let me sum it up in just one simple word of advice.  If you don’t mean it, don’t say it.  If you will follow that one rule, I promise you, it will change your whole life.  You will be a different person.  If you would keep that rule for one year, I promise you that a year from now you will be a different and a much better person.

 

Disease Number Three: Gossip

“Do not go about spreading slander among your people” (Leviticus 19:16, NIV)

Going about spreading slander-idle, untrue, exaggerated, malicious talk – is gossip.  The very title of Satan in the New Testament, the word rendered ‘devil,’ means ‘a slanderer’ in Greek.  That is its root meaning and the main description of Satan in the Bible.  If you gossip or tell tales, you are actually doing the devil’s work for him.  You are a representative of Satan.  Not only must we be careful not to give out gossip, we have a responsibility not to receive gossip also. “The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down too man’s inner most parts” (Proverbs 18:8, NIV)

How true that is of human nature.  When we hear something about someone that is bad or shows them in a bad light, something in the human heart rejoices. The words of a gossip are like choice morsels. Be careful when one of those choice morsels of gossip is placed in front of you that you do not swallow it.  They are poisoned.  They taste sweet but they poison us. And, as we receive them into our hearts, our lives will become poisoned by those morsels of gossip. “A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid a man who talks too much” (Proverbs 20:19, NIV).

 

Disease Number Four: Lying

We need to be careful that we use the right word to describe this disease of the tongue.  Somebody has used the phrase, ‘ evang-e-l-a-s-t-i-c-ally speaking.’ The evangelist sees 200 people come forward in his crusade, and by the time the report is in newsletter, it is 500.  What is that exaggeration or lying? It is really lying.  I do not mention this to be critical of others.  It is important that every one of us be very careful that we are not found guilty this type of speaking.

In Proverbs 6:16-19 (NIV) the writer tells of even things that the Lord hates.  Hate is a strong word.  This is what it says: “There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out ties and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.”

Out of those seven specific things that the Lord hates, there are three that are related to the tongue: first, ‘a lying tongue,’ ‘a false witness’ (obviously that affects the tongue also); and third, ‘a man who stirs up dissension among brothers’ (and normally the way that dissension is stirred up is by words).  So out of seven things that the Lord hates, there are three that affect the tongue, and of those three, two are specifically connected with lying.  This is stated again in Proverbs 12:22 (NIV): “The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in men who are truthful.”

 

Disease Number Five: Flattery

‘Help, Lord, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men. Everyone lies to his neighbor; their flattering lips speak with demotion.  May the LORD cut off all flattering lips and every boastful tongue…” (Psalm 12:1-4, NIV).

In this Scripture David is speaking about a state of moral decline in the hu­man race.  I believe it is not unlike what we see around us today.  Godly men are difficult to find.  The faithful have vanished.  What is the result? “Everyone lies to his neighbor; their flattering lips speak with deception.” A judgment of God is pro­nounced by the Scripture upon these flattering lips: “May the LORD cut off all flattering lips and every boastful tongue.” In Proverbs 26:28 (NIV), we are warned: “A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin.”  If we listen to and receive flattery, or if we become flatterers, the end is ruin.  “Whoever flatters his neighbor is spreading a net for his feet” (Proverbs 29:5, NIV).

 

Disease Number Six: Hastiness of Speech

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

This verse says if we are hasty in our words, our condition is worse than that of fool.  That is a solemn statement because the Bible has nothing good to say about the fool.

There is one example in Scripture of a man who was hasty in his words just once. The Bible tells of the price it cost him.  The man was Moses.  He was told by God to go ahead of the children of Israel, speak to a rock, and it would bring forth water.  But he was so angry with the children of Israel that he said to them, “You rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?”  Then, instead of speaking to the rock, he smote it (see Numbers 20:7-12).  That act of disobedience, expressed in hasty words, cost him the privilege of leading the children of Israel into the Promised Land.  This is described in Psalm 106:32-33 (KJV): “They (the children of Israel) angered him (Moses) also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes: Because they provoked his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.”

 

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