Eduoard and the Tongue...........

On Tuesday Eli and I stayed inside waiting for Eduoard to finish passing through. Thankfully, even though he made landfall approximately 50 miles SW of us, a day of rain and wind was all we got. It was a great day to curl up with a book.

On Father's Day 1986 my sister, Anita, gave our Daddy a book written by Charles R. Swindoll. The book is Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life. She passed the book on to Jim Christmas 2006. He has been trying to get me to read it for a long time. I suppose just knowing that the book had been held, read, studied by and belonged to Daddy made it difficult for me to want to read. However, yesterday it seemed to stick out on the bookshelf at me, so I took it down and started reading.

One chapter under "Winter, A Season of Reverence" caught my attention. It is simply entitled:

The Tongue

"It's merely a two-ounce slab of mucous membrane enclosing a complex array of muscles and nerves that enable our bodies to chew, taste, and swallow. Equally significant, it is the major organ of communication that enables us to articulate distinct sounds so that we can understand each other. But, the tongue is also as volatile as it is vital. Verbal cyanide. A lethal, relentless, flaming missile which assaults with hellish power, blistering and destroying at will."

I have often remarked that if given a choice, I think I had rather be physically abused rather than verbally. Bruises heal and fade away, but harse words spoken remain inside of us forever, returning at will to fester up and cause pain again.

All of us have been hurt to the bone, as a friend of mine used to say, by someone's words to us. (and most of us are guilty of saying them to someone) It hurt even more because it was from someone we trusted and respected.....someone we love. As the book says, "our pain was inflicted by the stabbing of someone's tongue." Often times, the person doesn't even realize how their words pierced us so deeply.

Psalm 39:1

I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth as with a muzzle.

The writer explains that we should 1) think first........what type of words are we preparing to say? Are they kind or cutting, grateful or complaining, necessary or needless? and 2) talk less.....conserve verbal energy. We often regret our speech, but not our silence.

The Bible gives us clear instructions about using our tongues too!

Proverbs 12:18

Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

Proverbs 21:23

He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity.

Ephesians 4:29

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up others according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

In conclusion, I think all of this means that if what we say to people, especially our family and friends, doesn't help to heal them and build them up..........maybe we should just put on a muzzle.